And Gryffindor Rebels
by WizardWriting
Summary: The sequel to "And Gryffindor Roars," Charlie and Hermione confront a new threat that tests their magical aptitude and the strength of their relationship as their sixth-year begins at Hogwarts school while old enemies unite to terrorize the Wizarding community. A story of love, friendship, and an ultimate revenge.
1. Chapter 1: An Azkaban Prisoner

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 1: An Azkaban Prisoner

A man dressed in a thick black cloak quickly walked down the lane towards a small cottage in the middle of a dark forest. The foliage of the forest was so thick that the stars from the night sky could not be seen. A mixture of grass and leaves crunched under the man's footsteps as his shoulders hunched over as if admitting defeat to a battle that was lost long ago.  
In fact, this man was just released from Azkaban Wizarding Prison just a fortnight before. He suffered for nearly three months in the rotting prison, run by the guards, Dementors, who sucked the joy and fun out of all life. His happiest memories, though far few and in between, had been nearly shattered as if a small child had chucked a stone through a glass window. He could see the remnants of his happiest memories lying on the floor yet he was unable to bend down to retrieve them.  
Azkaban did serious damage to the mind of a human who had just an ounce of happiness inside him and he had been stuck there for three long months. He remembered who had sent him there to rot: Albus Dumbledore. He knew Dumbledore held something against him ever since the first reign of the Dark Lord, but no, he didn't speak of the Dark Lord anymore; no one did, actually.  
He remembered how Dumbledore strode into the Dark Forest on the grounds of his beloved school of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and rescued those two students from his rage. His rage was well-founded: he was sent to his old school to capture a loose dragon from his place of work, The Dragon Reserve of Wales.  
Just when his men got close enough to the take the dragon back to the reserve, those two meddling students intervened and started attacking them! Although he would never admit it, that Gryffindor girl had a wide array of spells at her disposal. He remembered hexing her right after he flung her boyfriend into a tree. How his wand vibrated under his own fingers with the feeling of glee he got from hexing her had been joyous.  
Right when he was about to finish both students off, Dumbledore had come striding into the forest and before he knew it, he was waking up in Azkaban Prison.  
As the cottage grew closer, the man flung his arm upwards and the door to his cottage flung open with a great force that made his black cloak bustle about him.  
However, something was amiss in his cottage: it was utterly black, no sound to hear, no movement to see. Having been trained in the dark arts, his instincts took possession of him as he pointed his wand steady in front of him, his dark eyes scanning the blackness.  
" _LUMOS_ ," the man's voice rang out, the tip of his wand igniting with a bright light immediately. He heard a cackle behind him and he instantly flung around, shooting a jet of purple light at his aggressor. The purple illuminated the blackness before disappearing into thin air.  
"It seems as if Azkaban has done you some damage, old friend," came a voice from the darkness.  
"Who are you and why are you here?" Cried the man whose wand was still pointed at nothing in particular but where he thought the voice had come from.  
"Who am I? Why, I am surprised by your incompetence," replied the voice.  
"My incompetence? You fool, you don't know who I am! Show yourself!"  
Out of the darkness, a man appeared. "Now Paul, you should know who I am as I know who you are."  
A look of terror briefly crossed Paul's face but a second later, it passed. Paul lowered his wand away from his intruder before waving his wand behind him and a fire burst in the grate at the far end of the cottage.  
"What are you doing here, Alex?"  
The man named Alex gave him a look of modest surprise and replied, "Well, the last I heard of you, you had been taken away to Azkaban for apparently, attacking school children? I had to see if the rumors were indeed true. And I found out they were…just like the old days then?"  
Paul shot him a look of disgust when he said, "I don't talk about those days anymore. They are in the past."  
"The past, you say? Maybe your past but let me remind you, the fire still burns."  
"What are you on about, Alex, you're wasting my time."  
Alex, ignoring Paul's last comment, smiled and said, "Did you hear about the Longbottom's?"  
Paul shook his head from side to side and thought to himself, 'Alex calls me incompetent yet he seems to forget that I was locked away in Azkaban Prison.'  
"They were attacked and tortured into insanity." At this, Paul shot his head up and looked into Alex's green eyes.  
"Tortured into insanity? By whom?"  
"Death Eater's, apparently. Bellatrix, her fool of a husband, Barty Crouch, Jr., and another lunatic."  
Paul leaned back in his chair to digest this information. He was quite surprised by his actually as he had thought the Death Eaters were done and finished for.  
"Yes, apparently the Dark Lord still has followers out and about even after his downfall," replied Alex, as if reading Paul's mind. "But, I have other news to give you other than those of Death Eaters. The reserve wants you to come back to work. They are willing to give you a full pardon after you had completed your time in Azkaban."  
Paul had thought he would be fired from his job at the dragon reserve; this news was most welcome. "I am honored they would still have me back after Azkaban, actually."  
"Yeah, well don't let this get to your head. Our boss, Jones, had been out of league with Dumbledore even since the start of the First War. Any man Dumbledore convicts is a man whom Jones can trust."  
Paul shook off Alex's comment and nodded his head, saying, "I'll be back tomorrow, then."  
Alex nodded and got up to leave. Before he reached the door, he turned and said, "Don't be so happy to return tomorrow, though. News has spread, old friend, how you and your men were defeated by two Hogwarts fifth-years." And with that, Alex walked out the door, his laugh ringing in Paul's ears.  
Paul had turned a deep red out of immense anger. He then vowed to himself that he would venture to Hogwarts and he would finish off those two students. He would enact his tail of revenge. Not twenty miles away, Charlie Weasley was sneaking back into his house, the Burrow, after taking his girlfriend, Hermione Granger, out for a romantic broomstick ride.

When Charlie Weasley awoke the next morning, a smile was plastered onto his face. That is until, his bedroom door burst open and in walked his older brother, Bill Weasley, a smug grin stretched over his face.  
"Well young brother, I hate to break it to you, but you're not as sneaky as you think. Mum saw you come in last night," Bill laughed.  
Charlie silently cursed himself as he would soon face the wrath of his mum; a wrath he had faced all summer after joining Hermione on many midnight escapades. Charlie then silently shrugged his shoulders in defeat.  
"Well, before you face Mum downstairs, do you care to tell me where you and Hermione escaped to late last night?" Bill folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame. "Don't you have to get to work or something, Bill, besides nagging me," Charlie asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.  
"I don't work yet but I have an interview the Ministry tomorrow but stop avoiding my question, Charlie. Where do you two go?"  
"We went…out." Charlie smiled as Bill gave him a disgruntled look. Charlie then leapt up off his bed, walked over Bill, shoved him lightly away from his doorframe, and then slammed the door into his brother's face.  
Charlie laughed to himself as he heard Bill thump down the stairs, muttering to himself. Charlie changed out of his pajamas and took a deep breath before trudging down the stairs himself.  
Charlie cautiously walked into the kitchen and gave a sigh of relief when he did not see his mum there. Bill was sitting with his back to him as Charlie entered the kitchen. Not a second after he sat down, he heard, "CHARLES WEASLEY! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"  
Charlie's shoulders cringed at the sudden outburst as he craned his neck to see his mum, Molly Weasley, coming in from the back garden, a look of outrage on her face.  
"Mum, it was honestly nothing," Charlie mumbled, not wanting to anger his mother further.  
"What was that, young man?!" Charlie saw his mum's hands balled into fists at her sides.  
"I think, mum, he said that he didn't stay out too late with Hermione; he only came back at three in the morning!" Bill piped in.  
Charlie's jaw dropped open before he shot a murderous glare at his brother. His anger was short-lived as his mother screamed, "YOU DID WHAT?! CHARLES WEASLEY, AM I GOING TO HAVE TO PUT BARS ON YOUR WINDOW?!"  
Charlie felt his anger rising but he decided to keep his control as getting into a war of words with his mum wasn't the best idea.  
As his mum kept yelling at him, Charlie saw Fred and George sticking a huge spider down the shirt Ron was wearing. Charlie silently chuckled to himself, wondering if those two would even leave Ron alone. Ron's high-pitched squeal made Charlie roll his eyes and shake his head.  
"DON'T YOU ROLL YOUR EYES OR SHAKE YOUR HEAD AT ME, YOUNG MAN," his mum burst out.  
"Mum, I wasn't-," Charlie started but Bill cut him off.  
"You heard mum, Charlie. Don't roll your eyes or shake your head." Charlie turned towards Bill who gave him a wide smile. Charlie knew that Bill was enjoying his mum lecturing Charlie after Charlie refused to tell him where he and Hermione had snuck off to.  
After nearly an hour of his mum yelling at him, Charlie was finally let go, and he rushed away from the kitchen table. Charlie thought to himself how he couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts again where he would be free of his mum's ever-watchful eye and he could spend all of his time with Hermione.  
He longed these quiet summer nights; just the two of them riding on his broomstick, flying against the black canopy night sky, the wind rushing past their ears. He smiled as he remembered Hermione's high-pitched scream as Charlie dove towards the ground or shot off like a rocket into the sky.  
In just two days, Charlie would be back on the Hogwarts Express, traveling back to the ancient school of magic where he would be free with Hermione. Charlie would be lying to himself if the news of the Longbottom's torture didn't rattle him. His parents were good friends with them and their near-demise made him sick to his stomach.  
He heard his mum worrying over their son who was Ron's age apparently. Charlie couldn't remember his name but his life was already affected in terms he knew nothing about as of yet. After everyone thought the Wizarding World was safe, some Death Eaters were still at large.  
But venturing back to Hogwarts, Charlie felt a sense of safeness inside the walls of the castle; he felt protected and that no harm could come to him or Hermione there. Charlie would later learn how wrong he was.

-  
Well, I hoped you all enjoyed the very first chapter to the sequel to "And Gryffindor Roars!" Since I have started term again, I will be unable to post as frequently as I had been doing with "And Gryffindor Roars." However, I am committed to finishing this story and I will post as soon as I can (I'm currently thinking I have time post two-three chapters a week). But trust me when I saw, this story will be finished. Don't forget to rate and review!


	2. Chapter 2: Rats in a Maze

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 2: Rats in a Maze

The following day, the entire Weasley family planned to go into Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies while Bill would undergo his interview with Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, run by goblins.  
At the breakfast table, Bill and Charlie were anxious to go into Diagon Alley but for two very different reasons: Bill would go to his interview while Charlie would see Hermione again.  
"Bill, dear, why don't you eat some more. You're looking quite a bit pale," cooed Mrs. Weasley, as she leaned over him, taking in his pale morning complexion.  
"I'm fine, mum, it's just nerves," Bill mumbled. His father, Arthur Weasley, looked over at him and smiled.  
"Don't worry, son, it'll all be over before you know it!" Bill gave him a weak smile as he started to slowly turn different shades of green.  
Charlie was looking over the table at his poor youngest brother, Ron, as he was sandwiched between Fred and George with a look of utter terror on his face. Charlie shoveled eggs into his mouth as quickly as possible, ignoring the whimpers coming from Ron.  
"Charlie, slow down when you're eating, young man. I don't want you to choke," scolded Mrs. Weasley.  
"Sorry mum," Charlie said, his mouth full of scrambled eggs. Mrs. Weasley shook her head in exasperation, turning back to the stove where she was preparing more eggs.  
After finishing his eggs, Charlie looked around the kitchen table: his father was reading the Daily Prophet with a content smile plastered on his face, Bill turned an even nastier shade of green, his brother Percy was scanning the schoolbooks he would be needing this term, Fred was distracting Ron by telling him he thought he saw a spider crawl over Ron's legs; meanwhile, George snuck some type of fungus into Ron's food, and his sister Ginny was humming quietly to herself, lost in thought.  
Mrs. Weasley turned back towards the kitchen table to put the rest of the eggs on the table for her family's enjoyment when she suddenly screeched, "GEORGE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"  
All eyes turned on George who had a look of complete and utter guilt crash over his facial features. "YOU TAKE THAT OUT RIGHT NOW, YOUNG MAN!"  
Sluggishly, George removed the fungus he put in Ron's food earlier and closed his fist around it, trying to hide it from his parents' eyes.  
"Open your hand, George," scolded his father. Slowly, George opened his hand; both of his parents gasped aloud.  
"WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?"  
"YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!"  
"HOW COULD YOU GIVE THAT TO YOUR BROTHER?"  
"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DAMAGE THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED?"  
Those were some of the phrases Charlie caught while both of his parents berated George at the breakfast table. All the while, George seemed to cower from their excessive yelling. Meanwhile, Bill was turning a different shade of green, Percy's face was completely obscured by his Hogwarts book list, Ron was giving a rare smile to Fred who looked as if he could throw Ron into a pit of spiders, while Ginny was on the verge of tears.  
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUNGUS CAUSES?" Their mother had her hands on her hips, her face as red as the famous Weasley red hair.  
"THAT CAUSES SPATTERGROIT, THAT DOES!"  
George gave his parents an incredulous look, asking, "It does? I had no idea, mum." George feigned his innocence but Charlie rolled his eyes as he saw right through him. Apparently, their mother did too.  
"YOU HAD NO IDEA?! YOU HAD NO IDEA?!" Before his mother could yell at George any more, Charlie quickly exited the kitchen. It was always a noisy affair at any Weasley meal, mainly due to Fred and George picking on Ron.  
Charlie wandered upstairs into his bedroom, getting ready for to go to Diagon Alley.

An hour later, his mother was yelling up the stairs for everyone to come down. The trip to Diagon Alley was uneventful as Fred and George seemed to have forced themselves to behave as their mother kept looking over her shoulder to throw dirty looks at the twins as they ventured on the Knight Bus.  
Entering through the Leaky Cauldron, as the brick walls opened up onto the wandering street, a smile boomed onto Charlie's face. He looked around at the shops and stores, looking at random families shopping for school suppliers for the upcoming term, as Charlie followed his family into Gringott's Bank.  
Once inside, the Weasley family took their dwindling money out of their vault before wishing Bill well on his way to his interview.  
"You'll be fine, my dear. Don't worry about anything," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging her oldest son.  
"Good luck, son," said Mr. Weasley, shaking his hand. Bill forced a smile which turned to be a grimace.  
As the family exited the bank, Charlie saw something that made him even happier: Hermione Granger. Framed against street of Diagon Alley, Hermione stood on the lowest step of the Wizarding bank, with her bushy hair hanging off of her shoulders.  
Charlie quickly crept past his parents and called out, "Hermione!" She turned and a huge smile crept across her face. The couple threw their arms around each other as Charlie quickly stole a rapid kiss from her. She blushed at his public affection as his family came up behind him.  
"Hermione, dear! How have you been?" Mrs. Weasely engulfed Hermione in a hug as she smiled.  
"I've been wonderful, Mrs. Weasley! I'm just excited for term to start!" Charlie grabbed Hermione's hand and led her away from his family.  
"We'll be around, mum," Charlie called over his shoulder.  
"Don't you be late, Charlie Weasley! I want to meet you back here in no less than thirty minutes!" Despite his mum's warning, Charlie could have sworn he saw her give them a small smile.  
Charlie nodded his head as he and Hermione strolled down the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.  
"So, Hermione, did you get all of your things for term yet?"  
Hermione held up her right hand which was carrying a big bag as she nodded her head. Charlie took the bag from Hermione as she said, "Charlie, I'm fully capable of carrying those things myself."  
"I know you are," Charlie replied, giving her a small smile. She huffed, shook her head quickly, and walked off. Charlie chuckled quietly as he jogged up to keep pace with her.  
"Is your aunt here?" Charlie asked, looking around for any sign of a slightly older version of Hermione with bushy hair.  
"No, she…she doesn't like the whole…the whole, magic thing, actually," Hermione mumbled, rubbing her right arm.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-," Charlie started but Hermione interrupted him.  
"No, don't worry about it." It seemed as if the air had plunged into awkwardness between the couple. "So, Charlie, where are we going, exactly?"  
"Oh, I just thought we would take a stroll around Diagon Alley," he replied.  
"Just a stroll? Well, I guess that's okay but considering we went for a broomstick ride last night, taking a stroll seems, oh, I don't know, not as exciting," Hermione said. Charlie turned a deep shade of red as he ran his hand over his short, fiery red hair.  
"Well, I mean, we can take a stroll just to start! And then-," Charlie was cut off when Hermione laughed loudly.  
"Charlie, I was just joking!" Hermione continued laughing, clutching her sides as she tried to suppress her giggling. Charlie looked over at her and a smile slowly made its way onto his face. He shook his head, feigning exasperation, as they continued on.  
The couple talked about the upcoming term and who their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher could possibly be when they stopped dead in their tracks. Charlie and Hermione had been so engrossed in their conversation that they wandered right down a dark street; a street Charlie never knew existed in Diagon Alley.  
The pair walked down this new, narrow street; many of the stores were boarded up as a small but strange mist hung in the air. Witches and wizards were cloaked in black garments and robes, sitting on the sides of the street, mumbling unintelligible phrases.  
As Charlie and Hermione walked down the street, many eyes followed them. The pair passed a store called Borgin and Burkes before turning another corner and walking into a man which knocked Hermione off of her feet.  
Charlie quickly bent down and helped Hermione up as the man they ran into merely sneered in disgust. "And just who might you two be?" The man had a foul stench about him as he leaned down to look into their faces. Charlie noticed the man had scars and what looked like burn marks on his face. The man was dressed in a black cloak which seemed to be frayed around its edges. He wasn't tall but he was solidly built with short brown hair and crystal blue eyes.  
"We're students at Hogwarts," Charlie said, hoping his voice sounded calm and steady.  
"Hogwarts, you say? I dare not think you are of Slytherin house?"  
"No, we're Gryffindor's." At Charlie's words, the man threw his head back and laughed a wicked cackle.  
"Gryffindor's, huh? The house of the brave and noble-spirited? So young yet you two are already corrupted."  
Charlie and Hermione looked at each other, each wondering if the man they were talking to was sane.  
"What do you mean, 'corrupted'?" Charlie asked. The man glared down at Charlie, seeming as if he was contemplating even bothering to answer him.  
"Let me tell you kids something: the four houses that Hogwart's sorts you into is all a façade. Hogwarts preaches about house-unity yet they divide their students into different domiciles."  
"We're put into different houses because of our qualities," Hermione proclaimed boldly. "Hogwarts supports house-unity in order for us to learn to co-exist with one another. All of our houses holds different values which distinguishes us from one another. It's important to learn that even though we are all different, we can work and live together in peace." Hermione squared her shoulders as she looked the man directly in his eyes.  
The man turned to look at her, an ugly sneer plastered onto his face. "Co-exist? No wonder you two are Gryffindor's. How could you possibly understand the meaning of peace? The first reign of terror of the Dark Lord just ended. The entire Wizarding community was at war. I've watched many people, friends, family, and colleagues, die at the hands of each other. Wizards and witches were slaughtering other wizards and witches; families were ripped apart; the Ministry was on the verge of collapse; friends turned into bitter enemies. And we talk about 'peacefully' working and living together?"  
Charlie and Hermione looked up at the man who seemed as if he now had an aurora of darkness surrounding him.  
"You-Know-Who started the war. His ideas of the purification of the Wizard race was vile and cruel," Charlie said, his voice quavering slightly.  
"The Dark Lord showed how messed up Wizarding society actually was. Haven't you always wondered what the reason wizards have to hide while Muggles don't? Why we have to keep our magic a secret, as if it is some sort of curse? We are discriminated against because we are different. People fear what they don't understand; Muggles don't understand magic because they have none. Our Ministry decides to put our entire society in hiding because we don't understand a life without magic…we fear it.  
"Wizards and Muggles fear one another however, wizards discriminate against other wizards. Our Ministry fears what it is made up of: wizards. The Dark Lord was a prime example of the Ministry spinning out of control. The Ministry was in a fragile state: they promote peace and harmony with Muggles yet they didn't understand the costs of hiding from Muggles; they didn't understand what our society had to endure because they were blind to their own propaganda. Don't you see? We're all rats in a maze."  
Hermione's hold on Charlie's wrist because increasingly tighter; so much so that Charlie was beginning to lose feeling in his entire arm. Charlie thought this man was crazy but what scared Charlie the most was that this man actually believed in what he was saying to Charlie and Hermione.  
"Um, I think we'd better get going," stammered Hermione. The man turned his attention back to her and gave her a fake smile.  
"This is your one and only time you make it out of Knockturn Alley alive. I'm warning you: don't ever come down here again if you value your own lives. The exit is that way," the man said, nodding his head to his left.  
Quickly, Charlie and Hermione darted in the direction the man had told them to go but Charlie distinctly heard the man say, "I'll see the two of you soon."  
With a sinking feeling, Charlie thought he knew who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be.

-  
I hope you enjoyed the second chapter to "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I know my new chapter postings are not as quick as my previous story but as I've said, I am busy with term and homework and studying but Chapter 3 is a work-in-progress and will be uploaded as soon as it is complete. Don't forget to read and review!


	3. Chapter 3: Falling Diamonds

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 3: Falling Diamonds

The first of September quickly came with a rush of red hair and madness. Charlie was quickly stuffing some of his clothes in his school trunk, not having packed the night before, as he heard his mother call up the stairs for departure to King's Cross Station in London.  
Charlie heard Fred and George also throwing loose things into their school trunks while Bill was running up and down the stairs in complete and utter nervousness as he was to start his first day of work at Gringott's Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley.

After Charlie had hastily packed his things, he rushed down onto the landing and down the stairs. His mother was screaming at the top of her lungs for the family to depart the Burrow.  
"If we wait one more minute, you will miss your train!" Mrs. Weasley screeched. Charlie rolled his eyes at his mother's screaming lecture but he picked up his pace nonetheless.  
Just as Charlie passed another landing, Fred and George zoomed out of their rooms and collided with Charlie, and the three brothers fell in a tangle of limbs down the stairs. Bill, in his nervous state, did not see the school trunks lying on the stairs, as he tripped over them and tumbled down the steps.  
Just as Charlie, Fred, and George untangled themselves and began to stand, their oldest brother fell on top of them and the four boys collapsed in a heap. Charlie's eyes watered in pain as Fred's elbow jabbed him roughly in the ribs. He looked up to see Percy stalk out of the house with Ron and Ginny behind him.  
His mother was still screeching as his father summoned the boy's trunks from the steps and out the door.

The four Weasley's untangled themselves once again and hurried out of the Burrow and into the bright sunshine.

Once at King's Cross Station, the entire Weasley family, excluding Bill, crossed the barrier between platform's nine and ten and Charlie soon stood on front of the Hogwarts Express. The gleaming train billowed out a stream of smoke as its whistle pierced the tense air of the station.  
"On you get, all of you," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging each of her sons in turn. "Now Charlie, with Bill gone, you are the oldest brother and your responsibility is to keep an eye out for your brothers, especially Fred and George," Mrs. Weasley said, hurriedly, noticing the car doors of the train beginning to slam shut.  
Charlie inwardly rolled his eyes and said, "Honestly, mum, they'll be fine. What do you think is going to happen? We're going to break into the Ministry of Magic?" His mother gave him a stern look before nodding her head off in the direction of the train.

Charlie hopped on just as the Hogwarts Express began to move away from the concrete platform. Charlie waved his hand out of the window to his departing mother, father, Ron and Ginny, all of whom waved back enthusiastically.

Charlie smiled to himself as he set off towards the front of the train into the Prefects carriage where he would undoubtedly see Hermione. Fred and George snaked past him, whispering excitedly to each other. He knew his twin brothers were up to something yet he didn't have time to uncover what nefarious plans they had laid out. Charlie then spotted Percy, his nose in the air, traveling away, down the corridor of the train, already wearing his Hogwarts robes.  
Charlie walked into the Prefects carriage and saw the seat next to Hermione already occupied by fellow Ravencalw prefect, Travis Waters. Annoyed, Charlie made his way and sat next to the other Ravenclaw prefect, Annette Long. Charlie shot a dirty look over at Travis; his eyes traveled to Hermione who gave him an apologetic glance. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to the Head Boy and Girl as they made their usual announcements and handed out the time-schedules for patrolling the corridors.  
Charlie was excited to see he would patrol the train with Hermione; he once again looked over at Hermione and she beamed back in response. To Charlie's amusement, Travis had a defeated look upon his face when he noticed the schedule.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the prefects departed and Charlie jealously noted Travis taking his time to say his good-bye to Hermione.  
"Honestly, how long does it take to say 'good-bye'?" Charlie questioned, seething. He stared down Travis's back as he walked away.  
"Charlie Weasley, are you jealous of Travis?" Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow up, with her arms folded across her chest.  
"Jealous of him?" Charlie replied, pointing a finger at Travis's retreating back. "I would never be jealous of him. I mean, why should I? I have a girlfriend named Hermione Granger. She is the most brilliant witch in all of Hogwarts and is the prettiest witch of the age. Have you ever heard of her?"  
Hermione giggled and wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck. Charlie smiled to himself, squeezing her back. "You are a funny man, Charlie. But, thank you for the compliments."  
"Hermione, they're not compliments; they're the truth." Hermione shot a smile at Charlie as the pair walked side-by-side down the corridor, looking into every other compartment window.  
"You know, I still can't get that man out of my head," Hermione said, turning to Charlie. "Every time I close my eyes, I see his evil grin and hear his threat in my ears."  
Charlie set his hands on Hermione's shoulders and said, "I know what you mean." Indeed, Charlie had a nightmare about the man they met in Knockturn Alley. There was something extremely foul about that man that Charlie couldn't quite put his finger on. The fact that he was dressed in a black cloak and was framed in an eerie mist also didn't help matters much.  
Seeing the worried look in Hermione's eyes, Charlie wrapped his arms protectively around her, whispering, "Don't worry, Hermione. He can't scare you anymore; I'm here for you."  
Hermione snuggled her head under Charlie's neck and sighed contently. "Thank you, Charlie. I never had someone say something like that to me." Charlie frowned, wondering what had Hermione's father had said to her in her time of fear in the past. But Charlie decided not to question the matter and the two continued their patrol.

Instead, Charlie decided to pursue something else that was bothering him. "So, I have a question for you, actually." Charlie peeked a glance over at Hermione who was looking at him expectedly.  
"Why were you sitting next to Travis in the prefect compartment?"  
Hermione rolled her eyes, replying, "And you're asking this just because you're curious right? And not because you're jealous?" Hermione smirked as Charlie nodded his head.  
"I was sitting there and was watching you say your good-byes to your family on the platform. Next thing I know, Travis took the empty seat next to me. I told him the seat was saved and he said to me, 'Thank you for saving my seat.'" Hermione shrugged her shoulders at Charlie's raised eyebrows. "Trust me, that seat was saved for you, not him."

Charlie shook his head in disbelief, wondering if he would have to face Travis head-on and tell him to back off of Hermione. However, at that moment, the compartment door they were passing slid open and a voice asked, "Hermione, when you're done patrolling, do you mind coming in and sitting with me?"  
Charlie turned his head toward the voice and saw Travis, an expression of longing masking his facial features. Charlie instinctively put his arms around Hermione's shoulders and drew her into his side.  
"Actually, Travis, she's sitting with me in my compartment. You know, girlfriend and all," Charlie explained, a fire dancing in his eyes.  
Travis's brown eyes darted to Charlie's ice blue ones and said, "Oh, didn't see you there, Weasley, did you say something?"  
Charlie was seething as Hermione gently pushed him away from the compartment, saying, "Thanks for the offer Travis but I can't." With that, Hermione grabbed Charlie's hand and led him away from the sliding door.  
"Will you just admit that you're jealous?" Hermione asked, giving Charlie an exasperated look.  
"I'm not jealous, Hermione. He's trying to flirt with you but you're my girlfriend!" Charlie's hands were balled into fists at his sides as jealously surged within him.  
"Charlie Weasley, you are a very frustrating person, sometimes," Hermione said, her bushy hair swinging wildly as she walked away from him. Giving one last dirty look at the compartment Travis was in, he stalked after Hermione.

A few minutes later, Charlie took Hermione's hand and led her into a compartment consisting of his best friends, Adam Bones, Joshua Creevey, and Nymphadora Tonks, all of whom except Tonks, was in Gryffindor. At the sight of the entwined hands of Charlie and Hermione, Tonks's eyes were alight with excitement.

"Hey Adam, Josh, and Tonks! You all know Hermione, right?" Pleasantries were exchanged as stories of each of their summers emerged. For some reason, Charlie felt to keep the late-night escapades of him and Hermione secret; those nights alone with Hermione felt to Charlie as if he remembered a long-lost dream that had recently been found and telling anyone of that dream would shatter its composition.

Charlie listened as Adam was telling the compartment of his vacation to America he took with his family. As he was explaining about climbing a tower called the Empire State building, Charlie's mind drifted to a magical night he and Hermione had shared:

The night was still and warm as Charlie crept out of his bedroom and into the attic. The attic harbored a window hidden behind a curtain where Charlie's Cleansweep Six was waiting, the broom Hermione had given him a year previously.  
Charlie opened the window as quietly as he could, a thrill of excitement coursing through his entire body. The window squeaked silently as crickets chirped down in the grass below. Charlie maneuvered his body so that he was sitting on the windowsill as his feet hung in the air, high above where the garden gnomes were digging holes under the Burrow.  
But Charlie hadn't noticed as a warm breeze struck his face. He smiled at how inviting the night was. With a final breath, Charlie jumped off the window ledge and felt his stomach shoot up into his throat. With an easy grace, Charlie then straddled the broom as he zoomed off away from the Burrow, bypassing magnificent dark fields and acres as he spotted a small clearing of trees nearby.  
Easing the broom onto the ground carefully, Charlie spotted just the person he was looking for. She stood in darkness in between two trees as if somewhat embarrassed that she might be caught out of her home, so late at night. But Charlie could see the mane of bushy hair outlined in the darkness.  
Charlie got off of his broom and walked over to Hermione. She took small steps towards him, both of their shoes crunching the grass beneath them.  
"Hi," Charlie said, his eyes meeting Hermione's.  
"Hi," she breathed, her hands twisting together in front of her. The pair just stared at each other quietly, small smiles creeping over their faces.  
"So…what did you have in mind, Charlie?" Hermione asked, noticing his broom behind him.  
Charlie noticed Hermione looking at his broomstick and chuckled, "I think we should just stay here tonight." Charlie remembered how scared Hermione still was of flying. Even though the pair had ridden together on his broomstick at Hogwarts, Hermione still did not fancy flying.

The couple sat down on a patch of grass and looked up into the night sky. Their eyes fell upon millions of glittering stars that lit up the black night.  
"They almost look like falling diamonds, don't they, Charlie?" Hermione asked, leaning against Charlie's shoulder, hugging his arm.  
"But even those diamonds couldn't match your beauty," Charlie replied, not looking at Hermione. He felt her shake silently beside him. He looked over at her and saw her hand covering her mouth, trying to stifle her giggling.  
"What?" Charlie asked. Hermione shook her head as Charlie himself started to erupt into a fit of giggles.  
"Charlie, you come up with things that are both so insanely funny yet immeasurably beautiful," Hermione replied. Charlie looked down at Hermione just as she looked up at him. Their eyes locked together as a heated passion started to rise inside of Charlie.  
Charlie leaned down as Hermione leaned upwards. They inched together slowly, as the summer night heat started to encircle the couple. The trees softly swayed in a gentle breeze as the pair continued to slowly come together.  
Just mere centimeters away, Charlie felt a certain excitement start to bubble in his stomach. The pair had their eyes firmly shut. Then…

"CHARLIE! Are you okay over there?" Adam's voice shook Charlie out of his reverie.  
"Um, I'm sorry, what did you say," Charlie asked, thoroughly annoyed that his summer slumber had been rudely interfered with.  
"I said, get your robes on, we're nearly there," Adam replied, his voice traced with humor. "That is, if you're not too overcome with romance to do so," Adam chimed, clapping his hands together, his eyes pulled together with a dreamy look about them.  
"Oh, come off it," Charlie said, as Josh and Tonks doubled over snickering uncontrollably. As Charlie changed into his Hogwarts robes and sat back down, his compartment door swung violently open as Fred and George burst inside.  
"What on earth-," started Adam, but he was interrupted as both Fred and George pushed him into the window, as they squeezed between him and Josh.  
"Fred, George, what are you two doing," Charlie asked, thinking they had pulled off mischief somewhere else on the train.  
"What? Oh nothing, just trying to spend some time with you, Charlie," said George, giving a quick sideways glance at Fred who didn't seem to be listening.  
"Well-," Charlie started but was interrupted as the door swung violently open again, and Charlie suspicions were confirmed.  
Framed in the doorway stood a Slytherin sixth-year, named Dylan Jacobs. By his posture, Charlie thought Dylan was shaking in what seemed to be anger yet couldn't see his face as it was covered in blue grime.

"You two!" Dylan yelled, pointing his fingers at the twins. "You take this stuff off of me now!"

"We don't know what you're talking about, mate," began Fred.  
"We've been in here the whole time," finished George.

Dylan didn't buy their story as he whipped out his wand and pointed it at Fred and George. However, Charlie, Adam, Josh, and Tonks took out their wands and pointed them at Dylan.  
"Back off, now," Tonks said, her voice eerily quiet. Dylan, seeing he was outnumbered turned to face Fred and George.

"You'll pay for this later, Weasleys," he said, his voice traced with silent violence. "Not that I need to tell you how low your family is in the Wizarding food chain," he said.  
Instinct overcame Charlie as he shot a jet of yellow light at Dylan which flung him backwards into the outside wall of the train. Charlie heard Hermione gasp as he swung the door shut so hard, the window shattered. Small shards of glass rained down on Dylan's body as he struggled to get up off the floor, groaning in mild pain.

Charlie felt so happy and elated not five minutes ago, yet now, he felt like he could take on the most ferocious dragon and win single-handedly. He was breathing fire.

I hoped you enjoyed the third chapter in "And Gryffindor Rebels!" Chapter four is a work-in-progress and will be posted before the weekend is finished. Don't forget to read and review! I hope you are all enjoying this second story of mine!


	4. Chapter 4: Expect the Unexpected

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 4: Expected the Unexpected

Charlie was still seething as he heard Dylan continue to groan in pain. Hermione gently put her hand on Charlie's forearm; he looked over at her and smiled weakly.  
Then, the pair heard running footsteps as they saw what looked like a young man drop down to his knees in front of their compartment door.  
Charlie, Hermione, and their friends stood up to see him bend down over Dylan, muttering a spell as his wand waved slowly over Dylan's form.  
"Are you hurt," the young man asked Dylan. Dylan shook his head silently but grimaced.  
The young man nodded his head, pointed his wand, and a bright blue light in the form of falcon took flight out of the train. Dylan was helped up and he wearily walked down the corridor of the train.

"Okay, I hate to have to ask this, but who cursed the young man," asked, who Charlie presumed, was a new professor.  
"I did," Charlie said, stepping in front of his friends.  
"And may I ask why?"  
"He made fun of my family," Charlie responded. Charlie noted as the man shook his head that he was dressed in a brown cloak and had shoulder-length curly hair that was groomed with gel.  
"And your name is?"  
"Charlie Weasley."  
"Well, Mr. Weasley, I'm sorry to say that I'm to inform the school of any fighting on the train. Unfortunately for you, you must speak with your head of house upon your arrival to Hogwarts." With that, the man departed, but not before he waved his wand and the window was repaired once again.  
"Well, that was quite rough," Josh muttered quietly. Their compartment was silent the rest of the journey to Hogesmade Station.

Once at Hogesmade, Charlie and Hermione stepped out onto the platform and heard a familiar sound that made Charlie's heart expand with happiness.  
"Firs' years, don' be shy, this way!" Charlie and Hermione exchanged excited glances as they noticed the huge form of Hogwarts gamekeeper Hagrid, standing on one end of the platform, a huge lantern swinging wildly about.  
"Hello, Hagrid," Hermione called out, waving her hand.

"Hello, Hermione, Charlie! Good summer?"

"The best," Charlie called back, smiling happily. Hagrid chuckled as the lantern's beam of light shone on the frightened faces of the first years.

Charlie and Hermione packed in the carriages with Adam, Josh, and Tonks, as they raced towards the ancient castle of magic.

"So who do you think that was? That man on the train," Tonks asked, looking at everyone in turn.

"Most likely a professor, by the looks of it," replied Adam, glancing nervously at Charlie who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe," muttered Tonks, seeming to be lost in thought. The ride up the steep slopes of the grounds of Hogwarts continued on as Adam, Josh, and Tonks debated over which classes they would have together based off of their O.W.L. scores.

Charlie and Hermione passed their exams, Charlie receiving eight O.W.L.s while Hermione received ten.

Charlie peeked a glance out of the carriage and saw, much to his delight, the ancient castle loom silently before them. As the carriages drew closer and closer, Hogwarts castle jutted up into the dark sky like a brilliant towering structure, its magnificence procured by a full moon that emerged over Gryffindor Tower.  
"Let me tell you, the Empire State building was cool, but it has nothing on Hogwarts," Adam said, noticing Charlie's stare. Charlie smiled in return, as he put an arm around Hermione.

Adam laughed once, shaking his head, his eyes turned to Tonks. Charlie looked down at Hermione who smiled up at him and asked, "Are you okay?"  
Charlie nodded and gave her a small smile. Suddenly, the carriage stopped and they all filed out. Charlie breathed in the fresh night air as the sounds of hundreds of voices started to clamor all around them.

Footsteps pounded up the stone stairs leading into the Entrance Hall as stories of summer filled the conversations between the Hogwarts students.

Charlie stepped in the Entrance Hall and immediately heard his name called. He looked over and saw Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor, looking over at him, her expression stern over her spectacles.

Charlie looked back at Hermione and said, "Go on, I'll catch up with you guys later. And save me a seat this time," he joked. Hermione laughed quietly and nodded her head, turning her back on him, and walked into the Great Hall with Adam, Josh, and Tonks.

Charlie walked over to Professor McGonagall as she said, "Follow me." Charlie followed his professor up the steps of the Entrance Hall and down one corridor and then another, to her office.  
Once inside, Professor McGonagall said, "Well, that was quite the show you put on the Hogwarts Express." She clasped her hands in front of her and set them on her desk.

"Professor, he insulted my family; it was the least I could do," Charlie stated.

"The least you could do? Whatever spell you cursed Mr. Jacobs with was strong enough, Mr. Weasley, to give him a concussion."

"Serves him right," mumbled Charlie.

"What was that?"  
"Oh, I mean, I didn't mean for that to happen."

"Mr. Weasley, you need to learn how to control your anger. Just because someone talks about one's family does not give them the right to curse another. If we went about cursing one another every time someone said something afoul, we would be an uncivilized catastrophe," Professor McGonagall lectured.

"Well, I'm not sorry that I did it," Charlie said, not able to look his professor in the eyes.  
"I know you're not, Mr. Weasley. But you will be given some punishment. You will receive a week of detention with me, starting tomorrow night. And I will be writing to your family over what you have done." Charlie nodded silently as Professor McGonagall looked over at him silently.

"Even though I am very disappointed in your actions, I must stress that I am very proud to have you in my house after the events of last year," said Professor McGonagall. At this, Charlie looked up and saw his professor's eyes shine with honor. "You did a good deed helping Professor Roberts and Ailsa escape. I thought you ought to know since I did not get the chance to tell you before summer break," Professor McGonagall said, giving him a rare small smile. "And I think you should to pass on my sentiments to Miss Granger as well."

Charlie returned her smile and nodded his head. The pair stood up and traveled back to the Great Hall.

Charlie took a seat between Hermione and another Gryffindor sixth-year, Marie Good, and across the table from Adam and Josh while Tonks was sitting at the Hufflepuff table. The four house tables was covered in food as Adam was stuffing his face with meatloaf smothered in gravy.

"Detention?" Josh questioned. Charlie nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you did have it coming for you, mate," Josh said.

"So what did I miss?" Charlie asked.

"Well, you missed the sorting hat's song, for one, and the entire sorting at that," replied Hermione.

"The hat say anything interesting," Charlie questioned.

"The usual, inter-house unity, stand together, blah, blah, blah," Adam responded. "I mean, honestly, does that hat seriously expect us to come together with the Slytherins over festive cheer? I can't wait to shove my foot up the next Slytherins-,"

"The hat also said to expect the unexpected," Hermione said, cutting over Adam.

"Expect the unexpected?" Charlie asked, looking from Adam to Hermione, who nodded her head.  
"I'm not entirely sure what that means but it doesn't sound good," she reasoned. She shrugged her shoulders as she tucked into her own meatloaf.

Charlie looked past her and up at the staff table; Charlie saw the young man on the train who healed Dylan, talking to Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Hermione, did Professor Dumbledore announce who that man is," Charlie asked, pointing to the man.

"No, not yet, but he will after the feast," she replied. Charlie nodded his head and looked over at Professor Dumbledore who seemed deep in conversation with Professor McGonagall. Charlie continued to look on and saw a sour look on Professor Snape's face while Professor Trelawney seemed to lecture him on matters she deemed important.

Charlie chuckled to himself as he tucked back into his food. Once everyone was nearly finished, Professor Dumbledore stood up and silence washed over the Great Hall.

"Welcome! Welcome! Another year at Hogwarts is about to begin! Now I would like to make a few announcements before you all get a good night's rest for the start of tomorrow's lessons.  
"First years, please note that the Forbidden Forest is out of grounds to each and every one of you. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you of the school rules of which, all four-hundred and thirty-three of them are posted on his door. In addition, we have a change of staff this year. I would like to present Professor Blackwell, who has kindly accepted the teaching post of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Scattered applause broke out among the students and staff; Charlie looked over at Professor Snape who had an even more sour look on his face as he clapped lightly once; Professor Snape was intent on taking over the teaching post of Defense Against the Dark Arts every year but Professor Dumbledore had refused to give him it.

"Now, that is all for tonight. You're trunks are waiting for you upstairs as well as your beds from which I wish you all a restful night's sleep. Pip, pip!" Benches screeched across the concrete floors as hundreds of students stood up and filed out of the Great Hall.

Charlie saw the fifth-year Gryffindor prefects leading the first-years out of the hall, just like he and Hermione had done one year previously.

Charlie looked at the terror on the first-years faces and thought that the first-years seemed to get smaller every year.  
"It's a shame that we won't be here when Ron starts Hogwarts," Charlie said to Hermione, grasping her hand. "I would love to see the look on his face when he sets foot in the castle," he continued.

"I'm sure your brother gets teased enough from Fred and George. I don't think he needs another brother of his to terrorize him," Hermione replied.

"I don't mean to terrorize him; that's Fred and George's job," laughed Charlie as Hermione rolled her eyes.

The pair took their time making their way back to Gryffindor Tower. They walked down corridor after corridor, looking at paintings as they passed, enjoying the quietness of the castle.

"Where do you think Professor Roberts and Ailsa are now, Charlie," Hermione asked quietly, looking out of a window across the dark grounds.

"Together, far away from here, most likely. Enjoying each other, free of worry and fear of being caught," Charlie said.

"You don't think that awful man is after them, do you?"

"Well he's in Azkaban, isn't he? He can't do much from there, Hermione." Charlie remembered the dragon reserve worker, Paul, who led a charge against Ailsa to bring her into the Dragon Reserve of Wales. "He's gone; it's best to just forget about him."

"I know, I just hate to think that he might still try and go after them when he's released," Hermione stated.

"Then don't think of him. I'm sure Professor Roberts and Ailsa can manage on their own, don't you think?" Hermione quietly nodded her head. "Come on, let's go back to Gryffindor Tower."

Walking hand-in-hand, Charlie and Hermione made their way down another corridor before coming to a stop when walking past the teacher's lounge.

The door had been left ajar as the voices of Professor McGonagall and Professor Grubbly-Plank were heard.

"I don't know, Minvera. I have always stood by Albus's choices but it seems to me like this is just one step too far."

"I know what you mean, Wilhelmina, but Albus always makes the right choice and I have a firm belief that this is the right choice."

"But Albus is just a man; he can still make mistakes. I mean, hiring someone like that to teach students…I wonder what parents would say?"

"Albus trusts Professor Blackwell and so do I; even if he is a former Death Eater." Charlie looked down at Hermione, his expression mirroring the shock on her face.

I hoped you enjoyed the fourth chapter in "And Gryffindor Rebels!" The fifth chapter is a work-in-progress and I will have it posted before the weekend is over. Don't forget to read and review!


	5. Chapter 5: Whisper in the Wind

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 5: Whisper in the Wind

That night, Charlie lay wide awake in his four-poster bed, listening to the small snores issuing from Adam. Charlie pondered the idea that a former Death Eater was in the walls of the Hogwarts castle, about to teach students Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Charlie remembered the terror his family, along with many other wizarding families, shared when speaking of Death Eaters and especially the fear when talking about You-Know-Who. The reign of terror they inflicted upon the wizarding community was unlike anything that came before.

Charlie then looked back upon he and Hermione's run-in with that foul man back in Knockturn Alley; that man seemed to know a lot about the First Wizarding War in which havoc and chaos reigned supreme until the fall of You-Know-Who came to by just a little child; someone named Harry Potter.

Charlie shook his head, trying to clear the feeling of uneasiness his sixth-year seemed to unleash on him just the first day back. His mind then drifted over to Hermione and wondered what she thought about their new professor being a former Death Eater? That is, if he actually was a former Death Eater.

Charlie recalled that his father was critical of a co-worker of his, someone by the name of Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy apparently claimed he was under the Imperius Curse, one of three Unforgivable Curses, and because of that, he had evaded a term in Azkaban Prison of being a suspected Death Eater. But his father knew better; Malfoy's endless money pockets had won him a non-existent prison sentence as according to his dad, no one stopped being a Death Eater; it was a lifetime commitment.

Charlie turned over and looked out of his dormitory window to see thick black clouds pass over the moon, obscuring it from view. He forced his eyes shut and tried to drift off into sleep. Tossing and turning many times that night, he finally succumbed to a restless slumber, dreaming of fleeing the Ministry of Magic in a blaze of bright colors.

The next morning, Charlie was awoken by Adam and Josh before the pair left the dormitory to head down to breakfast.

Charlie groggily got out of his bed and got changed. He walked out of his dormitory and down the steps to find Hermione waiting for him in the Gryffindor common room. They smiled at each other as Charlie drew near her.

"Good morning, Charlie," Hermione said, giving Charlie a shy smile.

"Good morning, Hermione," Charlie replied, the tips of his ears glowing a bright red. He shook his head, chuckling, and grabbed her hand and the pair departed Gryffindor Tower.

Once in the Great Hall, they saw Adam and Josh nearly finished with their breakfast as they were busily talking amongst themselves.

"What are you two up to," Charlie asked, looking over at the pair of them. At Charlie's question, their hushed conversation stopped immediately.

Adam glanced quickly at Hermione and muttered, "Nothing." Charlie quirked an eyebrow up but Josh shook his head from side to side. Charlie shrugged his shoulders and returned to finishing his breakfast.

Soon after, Professor McGonagall came down from the staff table and started handing out the schedules to the Gryffindor students. When she reached them, Adam eagerly scanned his schedule; once he was finished looking it over, he let out a small cheer which drew the questioning looks from Charlie, Hermione, Josh, and Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Bones, what on earth are you making a ruckus and a fool of yourself here in the Great Hall for," questioned Professor McGonagall, giving him a severe expression over her glasses.

"Oh, nothing, professor! Just the start of new classes and all," replied Adam, waving his hands absent-mindedly in the air. He gulped when Professor McGonagall continued to stare at him.

"Moving on from petty foolishness, Mr. Weasley, you are clear to take the following classes," said Professor McGonagall, handing Charlie his schedule. He looked it over and saw that he and Hermione had nearly all of the same classes.

"Hermione, what on earth are you taking Muggle Studies for? You come from a family of muggles," Charlie exclaimed.

"Well, if you must know, I would like to know how Wizards perceive muggles," she replied, a light pink forming on her cheeks.  
"So are you going to tell us why you were acting like a baboon a minute ago," questioned Josh, turning to Adam.

"Mate, have you even looked at your schedule?! We only have one class with the Slytherins!" Josh quickly looked at his schedule; a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Now that is something to act like a baboon over," muttered Josh with now a huge smile plastered across his face.

Charlie too looked down at his schedule but instantly felt his stomach sink: most of their classes were with the Ravenclaws and no doubt, Travis Waters was still on the hunt for Hermione. He looked over at her but she didn't seem to pay him any attention.

Instead, she was looking up at the staff table; he followed her line of vision and saw she was looking at Professor Blackwell. Today, he was dressed in dark green robes, his curly hair smoothed over with gel.

"Do you two fancy the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," came the voice of Adam, looking over at both Charlie and Hermione with amusement.

"No," replied the couple at the exact same time. A sudden, quiet awkwardness settled between the four of them.

Josh laughed once before replying, "Anyway, I think we should all be going. We don't want to be late for McGonagall's first lesson." With that, the four students slung their bags over the shoulders and left the Great Hall, heading for their first sixth-year Transfiguration lesson.

Charlie noticed that Adam and Josh continued their whispered conversation that had undoubtedly picked up before Charlie and Hermione had arrived at breakfast that morning; Charlie felt slightly annoyed that he seemed to be kept out of the loop of what his two friends were talking about.

"So what do you think his lesson is going to be like," Hermione asked suddenly, catching Charlie off-guard.

"Um, I'm sorry, what did you say," Charlie asked. Hermione chuckled once.

"I asked, what do you think his lessons are going to be like? Professor Blackwell, I mean."

"Oh, um, I don't know, actually. It just seems odd that Professor Dumbledore would hire a former Death Eater to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts. But we'll find out soon enough as he wave his class right after McGonagall."

Hermione nodded her head and led the way inside the Transfiguration classroom. Charlie followed Hermione over to a table they could share together but before he could sit down next to her, he was shoved onto the stone floor.

Annoyed, Charlie looked up and saw Travis talking to Hermione. "Anyway, as I was saying, maybe you and I could take a walk around the lake sometime, you know, get to know each other a little better," suggested Travis.

Hermione smiled politely at Travis then looked down at Charlie who was still on the floor. Travis followed her gaze and said, "Fall over, did you Weasley?" With that, Travis stalked away as Charlie got up, shaking from anger.

"You would think that daft gargoyle would have given up after that fact I told him you were my girlfriend," Charlie said, his face a dark red with his fists balled up on top of the table he and Hermione were sharing.

"Charlie, calm down," Hermione said.

"Calm down? Calm down?! Hermione, that foul, bandy-legged troll just asked you out!"  
"I didn't say yes," Hermione replied.  
"Well, I sure didn't hear you say no," Charlie shot back. The couple stared at each other, anger bubbling between the two of them. Before Hermione had a chance to reply, Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and silence descended upon the students.

"This year is sure to be the most challenging yet in your Transfiguration studies," started Professor McGonagall. "We will first start with simple human transfiguration then later study more advanced forms of the subject."

The air between Charlie and Hermione was ice cold; the entire lesson, the two refused to acknowledge one another.

Provided with a mirror, Professor McGonagall set them to task, to transfigure the length of their hair. Adam had managed to shave off half his head while Josh, who was rather careful with his hairstyle, shut his eyes, and pointed his wand at his head. Unfortunately, he shot the spell over his shoulder, and Ravenclaw prefect, Annette Long, screamed aloud as her hair rapidly grew past her ankles.

Professor McGonagall rushed over to rectify the situation, all the while, muttering about barbaric behavior from Josh, and deducting ten points from Gryffindor for his silly wand abnormality.

Charlie had managed only to change the color of his hair; instead of being the famous Weasley red, his hair was now an off-brown. Of course, Hermione was the only student able to transfigure her hair length, which earned her five points towards Gryffindor.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson, Professor McGonagall called out, "Mr. Weasley, I would like a quick word with you."

Charlie walked towards his professor's desk at the front of the room without a backwards glance at Hermione.

"I would like to quickly speak with you about your detention tonight, Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall, rustling through a stack of papers.

"Now-," Professor McGonagall stopped, eyeing Charlie funnily. "I see you managed to transform the color of your hair, though if I remember correctly, that was not the assignment," she said, with a trace of humor in her voice. She waved her wand and Charlie looked into the window behind her and saw his short hair turn back to red.

"I will have you do lines for me, Mr. Weasley, so I expect to here at my office promptly at seven o'clock. Understood?"  
Charlie nodded his head, as Professor McGonagall said, "Okay, off you go, then." Charlie then departed from her classroom, quickly running towards his Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

Right before the bell rang, Charlie entered the room and saw, to his slight surprise, that the seat next to Hermione was unoccupied. Charlie wearily walked towards the seat and sat down, trying not to make a sound.

"I saved it for you this time, Charlie," Hermione said, not bothering to look at him. Instead, Hermione had both a piece of parchment and her textbook out, staring straight ahead.  
"Hermione, I'm sorry that I got angry earlier. It's just that, I don't like it when someone else flirts with you and then asks you out. But I should have trusted you, instead," Charlie said, regret etched upon his face.

This time, Hermione turned to look at him and gave him a small smile. "It's okay, Charlie, you had the right to be upset with me."

Charlie reached over and grasped Hermione's hands in his own. He pulled her hand up to his mouth and planted a kiss on top of it.

Then, the classroom door swung open and Professor Blackwell stepped inside. He marched up to the front of the classroom, as apprehension and excitement seemed to cackle in the air.

"Good morning, my name is Professor Blackwell and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this term," he started, his voice low and deep, but profoundly clear.

"Is it to my knowledge that you have not learned practical application? Well, I assure you that that is about to change. It is important to understand when learning defense against the dark arts that those using the dark arts will not fight fair.

"The ideology of the dark arts harbors something from deep within human nature. These feelings are uprooted in the form of taking pleasure in torture, pain, and death up to the point to enjoy those feelings of sickness and insanity. Let it be known that it is against human nature to commit murder."  
"Sir, if it is against human nature to commit murder, then why is it that people do so," asked fellow Ravenclaw sixth year, Matthew Morris.

"Because, to wield the dark arts properly, human nature becomes a mere whisper in the wind. For those of us that accept and take full ownership of our human nature, we don't commit murder; but under grave circumstances, we can duel to kill."

The whole room was the tensest classroom Charlie had ever sat in. He remembered a year previously when he sat in Professor Roberts' first lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts and how alert the class was when Professor Roberts talked about the dark arts and his apparent fascination with the subject.

Now, with Professor Blackwell, it seemed as if he was trying to make the students understand what the dark arts actually were. In Charlie's mind, it was frightening.

"The dark arts can be seen by those that use it, as an intense love affair with inhumane ideals. Good and evil does exist in our world but not in the way we perceive it to be. For example, during the first reign of terror of You-Know-Who, there was a good side and there was a bad side.  
"However, those that we perceived to be on the bad side were people we didn't understand fully. Indeed, they did try to topple the Ministry of Magic but do we really know the true reason as to why they tried to do so? A populace is only as strong as the governing body that rules over them. When our Wizarding population was at war with each other, what does that tell you about our Ministry?"

The air in the classroom seemed the plummet even though outside the castle walls, there was the warm fall air, frolicking about.

"It's imperative that you all understand one thing: we are all rats in a maze." Charlie and Hermione gasped aloud as they had heard that phrase before: from the foul man in Knockturn Alley.

Well, here is the finished product of Chapter 5 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" Chapter 6 is a work-in-progress and it will be posted either late-Sunday or early-Monday. Thank you to those that reviewed my story thus far! Don't forget to read and review and share with those you think might enjoy my story!


	6. Chapter 6: The Head in the Fire

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 6: The Head in the Fire

Shock rocked through Charlie, so much so, that he felt somewhat light-headed afterwards. Several of the students looked at Charlie and Hermione as they gasped aloud, including Adam and Josh, who kept throwing questioning looks over at the pair throughout the rest of the lesson. Professor Blackwell seemed to have also noticed but he kept going on as if he hadn't heard them.

Charlie was stunned beyond belief that his new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would use the exact same phrase as the man he and Hermione had met that day in Knockturn Alley. Was it just a coincidence or was it something more?

At the end of the lesson, Charlie and Hermione packed up their things and raced out of the classroom. But before they could discuss Professor Blackwell, they were hounded upon by both Adam and Josh.

"What in the mickey was that all about," Josh asked, looking first at Charlie then at Hermione. Charlie looked over at Hermione, deciding whether or not to tell them about the man they had met.

"Okay, there is obviously something up with the two of you and you're not going anywhere until you spit it out," Adam said. Charlie then thought to himself to ask Adam and Josh how they would like it if they were kept out of the loop, much like Charlie felt at the present moment with both Adam and Josh having whispered conversations between the pair of them.

"It's just that, Charlie and I accidentally went into Knockturn Alley and we ran into a man there, a really foul man, and he said the same thing that Professor Blackwell said during his lesson," Hermione replied.

"What did he say," inquired Josh.

"It was the phrase: 'rats in a maze'." Charlie looked over at Hermione who looked as pale as a ghost.  
"Well, don't you think maybe you two are looking too much into this," Adam asked, staring at Hermione. "I mean, many people could use that phrase, couldn't they?"  
"Really? Tell me, Adam, when the last time you heard that phrase, besides Professor Blackwell," Charlie shot back.

"Listen mate, I'm not accusing you of being mad or anything but it's still just a phrase. It could be a coincidence."

"I don't think so. There's something odd between Professor Blackwell and that man we met but I just can't connect the dots," Hermione explained.

"Well, can you try to connect the dots back in the Great Hall because I'm starving," Josh replied. With that, both he and Adam left Charlie and Hermione standing in the corridor, staring at one another.

"Hermione, you don't think that that man could have used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself to get into Hogwarts, do you," Charlie asked, looking intently at Hermione.

She seemed to ponder his thought but then shook her head slowly, saying, "I don't think that would have fooled someone like Professor Dumbledore. I mean, I don't think we can rule it out, I mean there's always a possibility, but something tells me that's not it."

A troubled expression clouded Hermione's view as she looked from Charlie to out over the Hogwarts grounds. She smiled softly when she saw a small stream of smoke start to billow out of Hagrid's hut.

"Come on, let's go down and get some lunch," Hermione suggested, grabbing Charlie's hand. The pair walked down the corridor before they heard a faint muttering from behind them.

Turning around, Charlie and Hermione saw Professor Trelawney come up to them, a mystical expression on her face, with her glasses magnifying her eyes at least three times their usual size. She had a pink shawl decked in small beads wrapped around her arms as she continued to mutter incoherently.

Nearing the couple, Professor Trelawney stumbled over her light green cloak and grabbed onto Charlie's shoulders roughly for support. He staggered backwards, unprepared for the sudden vice-like grasp Professor Trelawney had on him to stop herself from falling.

Once she regained her balance, she let go of Charlie, looked him over and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear boy, didn't see you there. As I should know, the inner eye often clouds my sight. One simply cannot ignore the ability to see into the future," she drawled on, her voice becoming more and more mystical with every word.

"I can't wait to meet someone who can actually see into the future," Hermione muttered under her breath. It seemed as if Professor Trelawney had heard what Hermione had said, for she gave her a very cold look, huffed with an exaggerated effort, clutched her shawl more tightly around her shoulders, and stalked off.

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione…what are we going to do with your smart mouth," Charlie teased.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Everyone knows Divination is a rubbish subject," she remarked, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Charlie laughed and grabbed Hermione's hand and the couple made their way to the Great Hall.

They sat down opposite of Adam and Josh who once again stopped their whispered conversation once they spotted Charlie and Hermione.

"Okay, one of you, out with it," Charlie said.

"What on earth are you on about, Charlie," Josh asked, one of his eyebrows quirked upwards.  
"You don't think I haven't noticed the two of you, going on and whispering to each other, then stop when you see me and Hermione," Charlie retorted.

"Honestly, it's nothing, Charlie," Adam said, starting to glow a bright red.

"If it's nothing, then why are you turning red," Charlie asked.

Shock crossed Adam's face as he turned away from Charlie, trying to mask his embarrassment. Charlie looked over at Josh who merely shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"Okay, keep it from me now, but I will find out sooner or later," Charlie said, digging in to his roast beef.

"So what do you think Professor Blackwell meant when he said 'practical application'," Hermione asked.

"Well, its obvious isn't it? I think we're going to learn how to duel," Josh replied.  
"Really? Do you think that Professor Dumbledore would allow it?"  
"Well, I for one, who welcome the idea to learn how to duel," Adam commented, glad of the change of subject, "so that when a Slytherin puts just a single toe out of line, he wouldn't know what hit him."

Charlie rolled his eyes at Adam's remark, shaking his head from side to side.

"Hey Charlie, you fancy a quick came of Quidditch tonight after dinner," Josh asked, suddenly.

"I can't. Detention with McGonagall," Charlie replied to the puzzled expressions of both Adam and Josh.

The rest of their lunch hour, the four discussed the most likely curses Professor Blackwell would teach them, their excitement mounting for their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

When they finished their lunch, the four proceeded to go down into the dungeons, where they were to go to Potions with the Slytherins.

"I mean, this ought to be a joke or something," Adam rambled on, "we have to endure both the Slytherins and Snape? That's like choosing between dating a troll or a house-elf."

Hermione shot a dirty look over at Adam for his last comment; Charlie knew Hermione had a soft-spot for house-elves, having learned about S.P.E.W. (the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) the year before.

Charlie grabbed Hermione's hand, urging her to calm down before replying to Adam.

"Ugh, I think I just threw up a little in my mouth," came a voice from behind the Gryffindors. They turned and saw Dylan Jacobs and the rest of the sixth-year Slytherins saunter up behind them.

"Better wash your hands thoroughly, Weasley, after touching something like that," Jacobs said, pointing at Hermione.

However, Charlie had whipped out his wand and pointed it directly at Jacobs' chest. "Want to say that again, Jacobs? Because I don't think I heard you clearly," Charlie threatened.  
"I said, Weasley, you might want to wash your hands after affiliating with some filthy-little Mudblood."

The Gryffindors cried out in shock as both Adam and Josh pulled out their wands and pointed them at Jacobs as well.

"Just ignore him," Hermione urged, trying to create a barrier between the two groups. The Potions door then banged open loudly, and Professor Snape quickly took in the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Five points each from Gryffindor, Weasley, Bones, and Creevey. I do not tolerate any foolish wand-waving in the corridors," Snape said coldly to them. "Not put them away before I give the three of you a month's worth of detentions. Now inside, all of you."

Professor Snape turned back into his classroom, as Jacobs sneered at Charlie, then shouldered roughly past him. Bursting with incredible anger, Charlie stuffed his wand back in his robes as he followed Adam and Josh into the Potions classroom.

Their first sixth-year potions class was the most difficult yet: Professor Snape had them brew Draught of the Living Death.

"Now, before you get started, I should inform you that no one has properly brewed this potion once since I have begun teaching at Hogwarts. And I don't expect any of you to correctly brew it, as many of you, lack proper potion expertise." At this, Professor Snape looked directly at Adam who turned three different shades of red.

"How some of you passed your O.W.L. and got into this class is beyond me, but I can assure you, more than one student has failed my N.E.W.T. level class. The ingredients can be found on page seventy-six of your book. You have exactly ninety minutes. You may begin…now," Professor Snape said, whispering his last word.

There was a scuttle as pages flipped open to Draught of the Living Death potion and students ran over the potion ingredients cabinet to collect what they needed. Towards the end of the lesson, only Hermione's cauldron had turned the ethereal blue the textbook had described as a completely, finished potion.

Professor Snape walked over to different tables, looking down into cauldrons, making snide comments to those that did not seem to understand how to correctly concoct the potion. Professor Snape then made his way over to Charlie's table: he looked down at Hermione's potion and then moved away without a word to look in Adam's potion.

He smiled down at the red potion mixing in Adam's cauldron and asked, "Mr. Bones, what do you call this?"

"I call it the halfway stage of Draught of the Living Death," he replied, his teeth clenched tightly together.

"I call it a zero, Mr. Bones, as the halfway stage to the potion is somber yellow." With a wave of his wand, the potion in Adam's cauldron vanished. Utter shock flitted over his face which then morphed into unprecedented rage.

"For those that did not receive a zero for today's class, bottle up a sample of your potion, label it with your name, and leave it on my desk for grading," Professor Snape drawled, walking away from Charlie's table.

"Mate, do you want some of my potion," Charlie asked, feeling sincerely sorry for Adam.  
"Oh, what's the point? That great old bat already knows I got a zero for today," he seethed. Adam stuffed his books in his bag and departed the dungeon.

After turning in his vial, Charlie left the dungeon with Hermione as Josh told them he was going to find Adam to check up on him.

"What time is your detention tonight, Charlie," Hermione asked.

"Oh, it's at seven. I can't believe I got a week of detention just because of what I did to Jacobs! And I can't believe I have to go now, after what he called you," Charlie said, his anger starting to bubble up inside of him.

"Charlie, it doesn't matter what people call me, anymore. In life, people are going to knock you down; all you can do is get back up and keep moving. That is where you show how strong you really are."

Charlie smiled down at Hermione as the pair made their way to Gryffindor Tower. Inside, they started working on McGonagall's essay and soon after, they made their way down to dinner. Charlie saw Adam and Josh sitting there, but now, they were not having any whispered discussion between them. Charlie guessed Adam was still seething over his grade in Snape's class.

After dinner, Charlie bid good-bye to Hermione, Adam, and Josh and made his way to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Good evening Mr. Weasley, come in," said Professor McGonagall. "Now, I want you to do some lines for me."

Charlie nodded his head, sat down, and wrote "I will not attack any student, provoked or unprovoked."

Darkness fell outside of the castle as Charlie continued to write line after line, his eyelids fluttering close on their own accord. Charlie guessed it must be really late and any homework Charlie said he was going to do after detention would just have to wait until tomorrow.

Just when he felt as if his head was going to drop on the desk out of sheer exhaustion, Professor McGonagall said, "Okay, Mr. Weasley, that will be all for tonight. But I expect you back here tomorrow at the same time."

"Right, well goodnight, professor," Charlie said, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. He walked out of Professor McGonagall's office and down a corridor.

The castle was deathly silent as Charlie's feet carried him towards the direction of Gryffindor Tower. However, as Charlie turned another corridor, he heard voices.

Charlie slowed his pace, coming upon Professor Blackwell's classroom door which was slightly open. Charlie leaned his ear as close as he would dare, and heard Professor Blackwell's voice along with another that sounded oddly familiar.

"You are up to something, Alex, and it has something to do with the Department of Mysteries."

"Oh, Sean, can't you ever see any good in me? I work at the Dragon Reserve of Wales, earning a salary and living quietly. I'm not up to anything. Honestly, where do you come up with these ridiculous accusations anyway?"

"Alex, spare me the lies. I am going to find out what you are up to and I will stop you."

"You couldn't stop me before and you sure will not be able to stop me now. I have seen things and learned things that would make your skin crawl," the voice of Alex cackled.

"You're talking about the dark arts, aren't you? How easily you have been used by You-Know-Who. You're not as strong as I once thought, then."

Silence ensued as Charlie turned his head to look into the room. "The Dark Lord knows I am his most trusted servant, and I say this: he will return again."

Charlie's eyes entered the room and he saw Professor Blackwell kneeling in front of his grate. The scene beyond though, made Charlie's eyes widened in shock as bells and whistles started to sound off in his head: the head of the man he and Hermione had run into in Knockturn Alley was dancing in the green flames, a mighty sneer plastered across his face.

Well, here is Chapter 6! I hope you enjoyed the sixth chapter to "And Gryffindor Rebels!" Chapter 7 is a work-in-progress and I will have it posted late Monday night! Don't forget to read and review and share with your friends who might enjoy my story!


	7. Chapter 7: Non-Verbal Might

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 7: Non-Verbal Might

Charlie clasped both of his hands over his mouth to keep from making any sound. He was shocked that his new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor new, and seemed to be closely associated, with that man he and Hermione had run into in Knockturn Alley, Alex, that he bolted away from the room.

He ran under the long corridors of Hogwarts castle, as nearby flames held in stone brackets cast alight his own shadow, chasing him over long the concrete floors. The high walls of the corridors made Charlie's footsteps echo as if a loud orchestra was playing, blasting in his ears.

Upon entering Gryffindor Tower, Charlie leaned forward, with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Walking into the common room, Charlie saw Hermione sitting by an armchair near the now-dull fire, everyone seeming to have already went up to bed.

Charlie quickly went over to Hermione and shook her awake, softly asking, "Hermione, are you awake?"

Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open as a smile spread across her face before disappearing rapidly as she asked, "Charlie, what's wrong? You look as pale as a ghost."

"Hermione, I've got something to tell you. I was walking back from McGonagall's detention and I passed Professor Blackwell's classroom. He was talking to someone; someone that you and I had already met." Charlie looked carefully at Hermione as her brows furrowed together in concentration.

"Charlie, who are you talking about," she asked before her eyes widened in understanding. "That man we met in Knockturn Alley?"

Charlie slowly nodded his head as Hermione's eyes traveled from Charlie's bright-blue eyes down to the carpeted floor. "His name is Alex, Hermione. I think he and Professor Blackwell somehow know each other by the way there were talking to one another. Professor Blackwell asked Alex about the Department of Mysteries."

At this, Hermione's head darted back to Charlie, as she repeated, "The Department of Mysteries? The one in the Ministry of Magic?" Charlie shrugged his shoulders but concluded that that was the only Department of Mysteries Charlie knew existed.

"We've got to tell someone," Hermione stated at once, standing to her feet.

"And what are we to tell of, Hermione? I happened to overhear Professor Blackwell discuss the Department of Mysteries with a stranger we ran into in Knockturn Alley? I mean, by the way he was speaking, it seemed as if Professor Blackwell didn't agree with what Alex was up to. But I don't know what we can do about it," Charlie replied, staring into the fire.

"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger, Charlie, and I don't like it," Hermione whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. Charlie sighed, stood up, and hugged Hermione from behind.

"Don't worry, Hermione, no harm can come to any of us with Professor Dumbledore here at Hogwarts," Charlie comforted. Charlie felt Hermione nod her head against his neck. "Come on, let's go and get some sleep." Charlie grabbed Hermione's hand and led her up the stairs where they departed to their respective dormitories.

Back in the common room, the fire in the grate sputtered out its last few yellow and orange embers before quietly dying, the grate turning into a black pit.

The following morning at breakfast, Charlie and Hermione decided to keep their secret between the two of them and not tell Adam and Josh. Charlie didn't particularly feel bad about keeping secrets from his two best friends as once again, the pair was having another whispered conversation which stopped abruptly as Charlie and Hermione sat down across from them at the Gryffindor table.

Charlie rolled his eyes in exasperation as Gryffindor keeper, Mark Smith, approached him. Smith was the Quidditch Gryffindor keeper and captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, currently in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts.

"Hey, Charlie, I wanted to remind you that we have Quidditch try-outs this Saturday after dinner. I want the whole team to be there so make some time in your schedule to show up," Mark said.

"I can't Mark, I have detention with McGonagall for a week," Charlie replied. "I hexed Jacobs from Slytherin," he continued, seeing the questioning look on Mark's face.

"Charlie, can't you stay out of trouble for once," asked Mark, shaking his head.

"I don't often get into trouble! This is like one time!"

"Well, anyway, I was thinking about taking in a new Keeper," Mark said.

"A new keeper? Aren't you playing Quidditch this year," Charlie asked.

"I am, but I think it would be best to take in someone new, train him or her with us, so that by next year, he can be ready for the team," Mark replied. "Some kid came up to me last night, someone from third-year. I think his name was Oliver Wood or something like that."

Charlie nodded his head and said, "Don't worry, Mark, I'll stay out of detention and I'll be at the first practice."

Mark scoffed, "You better, Charlie. Later." With a small wave of his hand, Mark departed, leaving Charlie thoroughly annoyed he would miss Gryffindor try-outs this Saturday evening.

After finishing their breakfast, the four friends departed from the Great Hall, and trudged off to their History of Magic classroom.

"Honestly, who thought to give us History of Magic so early in the morning," Adam complained as Josh rolled his eyes, "it's like they're asking us to fall asleep in class."

Tonks came up behind them and said, "Well, at least we have it together." Charlie noticed Adam turned slightly red as Tonks came up to them.

"Hey Tonks, how have classes been treating you so far," Josh asked.

"It's been like dealing with a one-eyed troll, having most of my lessons with the Slytherin's," she replied, her shoulders shaking with silent fury.

Josh laughed loudly as he said, "Trust me that was us last year. We all know the feeling."

"Yes but you knowing the feeling doesn't make me feel any better," she replied, walking into the History of Magic classroom.

The five students sat down near each other as Professor Binns, the only teacher at Hogwarts who was a ghost, floated through the Blackboard and began his lecture on the history of the Ministry of Magic.

Halfway through his lecture, Charlie found himself doodling on his parchment, bored out his mind. He thought to himself that the hardest thing about History of Magic was staying awake during the lessons.

He looked at Hermione who seemed to be listening intently, taking dutiful notes. This came to no surprise to Charlie as Hermione was always one of the few students to always pay attention during classes.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson, Adam, who had been nodding off since the beginning of the lesson, had his head slam on the desk in front him, jerking him wide awake. The class laughed as Adam had a bright red mark on his forehead.

Tonks pointed and laughed, saying, "Adam, you need more sleep at night." The red on his forehead quickly spread about the rest of his face as Professor Binns floated back through the Blackboard.

The rest of the day passed in a quick whirlwind of lessons, eating, and another detention with Professor McGonagall. This time, however, Professor McGonagall did not keep Charlie as long as she did the night before.

The following morning, anticipation was coursing through Charlie and Hermione as later that day, they would be in the same classroom as Professor Blackwell.

Transfiguration passed by quickly as Professor McGonagall had them attempt to transfigure the colors of their eyebrows. After unsuccessfully trying to change the color of his eyebrows from dark red to black, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.

Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, with Charlie and Hermione wondering if to tell someone about Professor Blackwell and Alex.

Entering into the classroom, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws saw an empty classroom with the tables pushed up against one side of the room.

"Welcome, class, come in, come in," said a seemingly excited Professor Blackwell. "Well then, I told you in our first lesson that we would start practical application, so today, we are going to practice firing spells at one another.

"Before we start, I want to warn each of you to not use spells that can forever harm your opponent. I'm positive not many of you know spells of such wickedness but this class is just to get you all prepared for more advanced practical application uses we will get to later in the term. Now I want all of you to pair up."

There was a rush of movement as students strained to find their friends; Charlie saw Travis approach Hermione out of the corner of his eye, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her as far away from him as possible.

Charlie noted that Adam and Josh had paired together; he inwardly smirked to himself as both Adam and Josh being paired together was sure to be a recipe for disaster.

"Now, let's start out with something basic, yeah? I want each of you to practice the disarming spell, _EXPELLIARMUS_. On you go then," stated Professor Blackwell.

"Okay, you first, Hermione," Charlie said, standing about ten feet away from her. Charlie knew Hermione would have no trouble with this spell, seeing a lot of her spell work the previous year as she and Charlie fended off Dragon Keepers away from Ailsa.

" _EXPELLIARMUS_!" Hermione cried; Charlie's wand flew out of his hand and Hermione caught it in her own. Charlie smiled as Hermione tossed Charlie back his wand and he successfully cast the spell at Hermione.

Charlie looked over at Adam and Josh; Josh pointed his wand at Adam, waving his wand wildly about, yelling, " _EXPELLIARMUS_!" The force of the spell slammed into Adam's hand, causing his wand to spin violently out of control where it struck Josh in the eye. As doubled over, howling in pain, Professor Blackwell, not hearing Josh's cries, said, "It seems as if most of you had mastered that. So now we will move on. The next spell I want to all to practice is the shield charm, _PROTEGO_. I want one partner to try and disarm your opponent while the other tries to block it. Off you go."

Charlie nodded his head at Hermione, signaling he would try to disarm her first. Charlie carefully gauged Hermione's movements as she stood, her shoulders squared, her wand at the ready, staring intensely at Charlie.

" _EXPELLIARMUS_!"  
" _PROTEGO_!" The moment his disarming spell left his lips, Hermione blocked the spell with skilled precision. Charlie watched as his jet of yellow light was easily blocked by the light blue light of the _PROTEGO_ charm.

Charlie nodded his head at Hermione's effectiveness to block his spell as Hermione looked him in the eyes. He knew she was calculating his movements just as he had done moments previously to her.

" _EXPELLIARMUS_!"

" _PROTEGO_!" This time, Charlie had effectively blocked Hermione's disarming spell as he watch it soar towards one of the classroom walls after deflecting it. The pair smiled at each other as they heard the other pairs cry out the disarming spell and shield charms around them, bits of yellow and blue light popping into the air.

"Okay, okay, everyone settle down. Now, the last spell for today I want you all to try is the summoning charm, _ACCIO_. I will place an object in between each pair and I want you to try and best your partner by summoning the object before the other."

Professor Blackwell waved his wand and a water goblet appeared directly in the middle of each pair of students.

"On my mark, now, and you may begin."

Charlie and Hermione looked at each other, as cries of the summoning charm exploded all around them.

Charlie, once again trying to read Hermione's eyes, was thrown off guard as Hermione suddenly cried, " _ACCIO_!" The water goblet flew into Hermione's outstretched hands as Charlie stared at her dumbfounded. She gave him a sweet and innocent smile as she placed the goblet in the middle of their distance between each other.

Charlie and Hermione looked into each other's eyes, Charlie telling himself he would surely win this time, but not a second later, Hermione cried, " _ACCIO_ ," again and the water goblet sped into her arms.

Charlie, getting aggravated with himself, stared as Hermione placed the water goblet back in between them. As she walked back to her spot, Charlie hatched a plan. Directly after she turned back around, Charlie cried out, " _ACCIO_!" The water goblet then sped into his hands.

Charlie smiled proudly at himself as he looked over at Hermione who had an eyebrow quirked up and her arms folded over her chest.

Charlie's smiled melted into a grimace as he placed the goblet back in the middle of them. Just as they looked into each other's eyes, they heard Adam and Josh start an argument.

They both turned and heard Adam, yelling, "Oh come on! Don't be such troll! It's not my fault you can't beat me!"

"Beat you? You cheated every time," Josh yelled back. "You kept telling me there was a pixie on my shoulder!"  
"Well it's not my fault you fell for my silly tactics."

"Silly tactics, huh? We'll see about that, _ACCIO_!"

" _ACCIO_!" Both Adam and Josh cried out the charm at the same time. Both spells then clashed together in mid-air, deflecting both charms so that they flew over Charlie and Hermione's heads and crashed into one of the classroom's windows.

The force of both charms exploded the window with an ear-shattering impact. Big shards of glass flew down onto Charlie and Hermione but before either of them felt them leave their mark, they both waved their wands simultaneously.

Charlie, thinking instead of saying it aloud, thought _PROTEGO_ over and over in his mind. Surprisingly, both Charlie and Hermione had deflected the falling shards of glass non-verbally. The glass pieces fell onto the classroom floor.

All was silent until applause broke out among the students watching. They both turned and saw the students, wide-eyed and clapping, at their non-verbal usage. Charlie happily noted Travis; it seemed as if he had swallowed something very sour with the look on his face.

Charlie and Hermione smiled at the crowd as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, I would like a word with you both, if you please," came the voice of Professor Blackwell.

As the rest of the students filed out of the classroom, both Charlie and Hermione wandered slowly over to Professor Blackwell's desk. Charlie's mind was racing in many different directions, wondering what a former Death Eater would want with them.

Well, here is Chapter 7 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I want to thank everyone that has reviewed thus far and I would like to let you know that Chapter 8 is a work-in-progress and it will be posted later tonight! Don't forget to read, review, and share with those that might like my story!


	8. Chapter 8: Blackwell's Secret

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 8: Blackwell's Secret

Charlie and Hermione stood in front of Professor Blackwell's desk, both looking anywhere except their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Well Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, I must say I am impressed by your use of non-verbal magic even though we haven't started studying that branch of magic yet," started Professor Blackwell. "Although, upon entering the school, I was informed by the events that happened last year: the two of you single-handedly releasing Ailsa."

At this, both Charlie and Hermione locked eyes on Professor Blackwell, both shocked that he knew about it.

"Yes, I actually heard about Ailsa's escape long before I considered taking up the post for your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. You see, word travels fast when two Hogwarts students can take-out full-grown wizards." He smiled warmly at the two of them. "However, talking to you these past few moments, I can tell the two of you are tense around me and I'm curious to find out why." He quirked up an eyebrow at the two of them.

Charlie gulped as Professor Blackwell's eyes darted from Hermione to Charlie. "Professor, it's just something you said to us your first lesson…it brought back some strange memories," Hermione replied.

"Strange memories, you say? And what strange memories might that be, Miss Granger?"

"Before coming to Hogwarts, we ran into a man in Knockturn Alley," Charlie intervened when he heard Hermione stutter, "and this man was a real foul man and he talked about 'rats in a maze'."

At Charlie's answer, Professor Blackwell's eyes darted to Charlie and started intensely at him.

"Who was this man," asked their professor.

"Well, there's another thing, too. I had detention with Professor McGonagall last night and I saw his head in your fire. You were speaking to him. His name is Alex."

Professor Blackwell closed his eyes momentarily, seeming as if contemplating whether he should tell Charlie and Hermione something.

"Thank you for your honesty, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. I'll tell you this: Alex is my brother. And Alex, is a Death Eater."

Silence consumed the air the three of them were breathing in. Professor Blackwell's gaze was now on his desk, as if ashamed someone of his blood was a Death Eater.

"After You-Know-Who started his reign of terror, my family supported him and his ideals of exterminating those deemed unworthy of magic; in other words, the blood purification of the Wizarding world. My brother was captivated by the thought of power You-Know-Who possessed.

"However, once my parents saw what he was willing to do in order to rule the Wizarding community, they withdrew their support. My brother, Alex, however, became obsessed with the dark arts. It consumed him and poisoned his mind. I tried to save him but not long after, he was too far gone; I could see it in his eyes. His eyes burned with a depraved passion that still haunts me to this day."

Charlie and Hermione stared transfixed at their professor, caught unaware of his past that made their blood curl.

"As fate would have it, after the fall of You-Know-Who, my parents' money and power extradited Alex's deserved prison sentence. Instead, he decided to go and work and got himself a job at the Dragon Reserve of Wales. There, he met a man named Paul, who I'm sure, the two of you know really well.

"After Paul was sent to take Ailsa to the dragon reserve and came back empty-handed with a one-way ticket to Azkaban, my brother told me of you two. Of course, he didn't mention you by name but that is how I learned what I know."

"Sir, I don't mean to intrude or anything on your personal life, but I overheard two professors talking about you being a former Death Eater. Is that true?" Charlie asked.

At Charlie's question, Professor Blackwell threw his head back and laughed. In answer to his question, Professor Blackwell pulled up both sleeves of his cloak, revealing no indication of the Dark Mark.

"Does that answer your question, Mr. Weasley?" Charlie turned a deep shade of red as he mumbled something incoherent.

"I am no former or current Death Eater, and I never will be either," Professor Blackwell said. "Now, I've kept the two of you long enough; your lunch hour is halfway over. Until our next lesson then," Professor Blackwell said, dismissing both students.

Both Charlie and Hermione nodded their heads and exited their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.  
"Do you believe it?" Charlie asked suddenly, facing Hermione. "His story, I mean."

"It didn't seem like he was lying," Hermione said, her brows furrowed as if deep in thought. "It is a really awful story; families being ripped apart over You-Know-Who and his campaign of discriminatory ideals. Well, let's get some lunch then."

As the pair made their way down a corridor and towards the Great Hall, Charlie wondered aloud, "I wonder if we will ever get a normal Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

Professor Blackwell's secret remained under wraps between Professor Blackwell, Charlie, and Hermione. Their Defense Against the Dark Arts classes continued with practical application, as the spells Professor Blackwell had them practice became more advanced.

Adam and Josh still continued on with their whispered conversations which stopped abruptly as he and Hermione came near the pair of them. However, Charlie hadn't become too bothered with it as he now held a secret both Adam and Josh had no idea about.

As their classes trudged on, the fall season slowly turned in a frosty winter. And the upcoming weekend had Charlie riled up in anticipation for it would be the first game of the Quidditch season and Gryffindor would be facing Ravenclaw.

Although the rivalry between the houses was not as extreme as that of Gryffindor and Slytherin, the upcoming match was still highly anticipated among the entire school.

The day of the match, Charlie awoke in his dormitory and instantly looked out his window. He was surprised to see snow fall across the Hogwarts grounds; surely the snow was early this time of year.

Charlie got dressed, butterflies flying around in his stomach, as nervousness started to weigh heavily on his shoulders. He trudged down the steps and into the common room where Hermione was waiting for him, decked out in Gryffindor colors of red and gold.

Charlie took Hermione's hand and together, they walked down to the Great Hall. At the sight of Charlie entering the hall, the Gryffindor table burst out in loud cheers. The tips of Charlie's ears burned a bright red from all of the sudden attention he was receiving.

He and Hermione sat across from Adam and Josh, both of whom, today, were not having their usual whispered conversation.

"So, how are you feeling today, mate," Adam questioned, looking Charlie over.

"I feel fine, I guess," Charlie replied, grabbing a piece of toast. "I don't feel nervous or anything, really."

Charlie took a bite of his toast and to him, it tasted like bark from a tree trunk. Charlie put the toast back on his plate without another bite. Soon after, the Gryffindor team departed to the Quidditch Pitch but not before Charlie gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek.

Once outside, Charlie breathed in the fresh, stinging, winter air. A light snowfall had begun to fall with the ground laden with ice.

"A bit early for snow, but we'll manage," stated Mark Smith, gauging the weather conditions for which his team would play in. "Come on, everyone, let's get suited up."

The team followed their captain into the changing rooms. As Charlie got dressed, his nervousness seemed to mount. He didn't understand it: Charlie had played many games before but didn't know why today he felt the most nervous.

Slowly, the team heard the thundering of hundreds of footsteps and voices that proceeded towards the Quidditch stadium. Charlie's mind kept wandering over to Hermione; what if he made a fool of himself during his first game as her boyfriend. Would she break up with him because she wouldn't want to date a loser of a Quidditch player?

Fear crept into Charlie's mind as he heard Madam Hooch announce the arrival of the Ravenclaw team.

"Okay team, prepare to ride out," called the voice of Mark. Charlie stood, his knees shaking and his teeth chattering together. Charlie had guessed Madam Hooch had called the Gryffindor team out but he didn't hear; he saw his teammates mount their brooms and depart.

Once outside, the chill of the new winter air stung Charlie under his robes. He looked up, shaking from the cold, and saw a sea of red and gold; Hermione was up there, somewhere, looking down at him. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the immense amount of nerves he was now feeling.

Charlie noticed the Quidditch pitch was covered with a thin glass of ice; it seemed as if winter had truly come early.

The two teams formed a circle in the air, hovering slightly over the ground as Madam Hooch kicked open the crate holding, the quaffle, bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. The balls soared in the wintry air, and the game began!

Gryffindor chaser Anna Hall gained first possession of the quaffle and she shot off towards the Ravenclaw goals posts. Charlie soared into the air, looking in every direction for the Golden Snitch which would earn his team one-hundred and fifty points and would signal the end of the game.

The bell rang out below as a team scored though Charlie wasn't sure which. The wind howled in his ears as the wintry air became colder and colder with the height Charlie was flying at to have a better view of the pitch.

Charlie saw a Ravenclaw chaser skirt around Gryffindor beater Raymond Young as he sped off to challenge Mark. Mark hovered on his broom, following the chaser's every move; his eye never leaving the quaffle tucked tightly under his arm.

The chaser shot the quaffle out, the ball rocketing towards the left-most goalpost but Mark dived and made a miraculous save, tossing the quaffle over to chaser Seth Long.

Charlie's eyes peeled out over the pitch, trying to find a glint of the tiny golden ball but he didn't see it. He huffed in exasperation as he flew slowly from end of the pitch to another, keeping his eyes open for any sign of the snitch.

As Charlie slowly flew around, a bludger was whacked towards his direction; Charlie gasped in desperation but skillfully steered his broom to his right as the bludger flew right past him.

Down below, Charlie heard a scream as Gryffindor chaser Anna Hall had collided with another Ravenclaw beater. The pair had struck together with a sickening thud and fell off of their broomsticks. Both were racing down onto the ice-covered ground when Madam Hooch took out her wand, pointed it at the two falling students, and lowered them safely to the ground.

As the game continued, Charlie felt as if the air was growing colder and colder. He kept his eyes peeled out for the snitch, trying not to think about what would happen to his relationship if he lost the match. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a golden hint of the small ball.

Instantly, Charlie shot off towards it. The snitch was flying over the icy ground as Charlie dove down for it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Ravenclaw seeker flying towards him.

Charlie followed the snitch as it zigzagged across the Quidditch pitch with the Ravenclaw seeker following closely behind Charlie. The two players skated so close to the ground that bits of ice skirted the tails of their brooms, looking as if they were skating over the ice.

Charlie felt the wind rush his ears as a bludger came thundering down towards Charlie. Charlie pulled out of the line of fire as the bludger slammed into the ice, sending small pieces of frost up into Charlie's face; Charlie felt two cuts form across his cheek.

Now, Charlie was following the Ravenclaw seeker after dodging the bludger attack. The blue and silver jersey of the Ravenclaw seeker blocked Charlie's view of the snitch as it whipped around in the frosty wind.

Instinctively, Charlie hatched a plan to fly up and over the Ravenclaw seeker; when he did so, the snitch shot upward into the sky. Charlie rocketed his broom as fast as it would go. Charlie could see the snitch as he stretched out his hand to reach it. To his utter happiness, he felt his hand cover the tiny fluttering ball.

"YES!" Charlie screamed out, flying back towards the pitch, his arm swinging wildly over his head, happy that he had ended the game. Cheers burst out from his teammates as well as from the Gryffindor students.

Charlie looked over and saw the final score of the game: Gryffindor: 200 – Ravenclaw: 90.

Charlie smiled as his team clapped him on the back. Charlie looked up and scanned the crowd for Hermione but couldn't see her. Then, the clouds in the sky opened slightly and the sun beat down on the Quidditch pitch, the Gryffindors reveling in their victory.

After changing back into his Hogwarts robes, Charlie made to leave the changing rooms when the door opened and Hermione stepped in, a huge smile spread across her face.

"Hey, great game," she said.

Charlie walked over to her, grabbed the small of her back, leaned her backward, and planted a kiss on Hermione's lips.

"Thank you," he replied, pulling Hermione back up. He happily noted her cheeks were flushed with a pink twinge.

"That was quite the 'thank you,'" Hermione replied but still smiling nonetheless. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, I was just so nervous this morning. I had no idea what would have happened if we lost," Charlie said.

"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, this is my first Quidditch game as your true boyfriend and I just didn't want to let you down," Charlie mumbled, the tips of his ears turning a bright red.

"Charlie, you silly man! Win or lose, I'll always be here for you. The outcome of one Quidditch game does not determine the amount of love I have for you," Hermione said, her voice stern.

"Love, huh?" Charlie rubbed the back of his head, now his neck flushing with embarrassment.

Hermione's eyes widened, then she shrugged her shoulders, giggling. Charlie started laughing too, thinking to himself how he loved the sound of Hermione's giggles. Together, they departed the changing rooms and walked up the sloping grounds to Hogwarts castle.

Once inside, Charlie and Hermione decided they were up for a walk around the castle before heading back to Gryffindor Tower, where they knew a huge celebration was taking place.

"Hermione? Have you ever had a boyfriend before?" Charlie asked, nervous over her answer.

"No, I haven't. But I'm pretty sure you did," she responded.

"Yeah, but it wasn't anything special, trust me," Charlie replied, squeezing Hermione's hand.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, um, I was just curious," Charlie replied. The pair turned a corner and walked down a corridor. However, before them, lay a stack of papers. Hermione bent down and picked them up.

Her eyes widened at the paper's content; she handed them over to Charlie who was just as perplexed as Hermione was. The paper had numbers and symbols covering every surface of it. Charlie wondered who had left these stack of papers in the middle of the corridor.

Charlie flipped through the pages and page after page had different numbers and symbols drawn all over it. He flipped over the stack and his eyes nearly left their sockets: on the back page was a small note. The note read: _The Department of Mysteries: The Time Room_.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed the latest chapter to "And Gryffindor Rebels!" Thank you to all who read and reviewed my story thus far – it truly means a lot. Chapter 9 is a work-in-progress and I think I'll have it posted sometime tomorrow afternoon. Don't forget to read, review, and share with your friends who might like my story! And don't worry…the action and adventure is about to pick up!


	9. Chapter 9: Last Blood-Line

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 9: Last Blood-Line

Charlie and Hermione stared at the back page for a moment; the secrets of the Department of Mysteries hidden with the Ministry of Magic were starting to be unraveled.

"Charlie, I think we should go to Professor Dumbledore with this," Hermione suggested, her voice laced with trepidation. "This seems to be getting quite serious."

"Hermione, I think we should first go and ask Professor Blackwell about this before we do anything else. After all, he did tell us about Alex and I don't think he would lie to us, especially after we found this."

Charlie looked from the papers over to Hermione's warm brown eyes, wondering if she would agree. After several moments, she nodded her head slowly. Charlie too nodded his head, as if willing himself what he and Hermione were about to face. He grabbed her hand and they set off for Professor Blackwell's classroom as Hermione stuffed the papers into her Hogwarts robes.

All of the fun and excitement of the Quidditch victory Charlie had felt not ten minutes ago had all but dissipated. Now fear and anxiety were starting to slowly invade Charlie's mind; his heart was racing as he and Hermione got closer and closer to their destination.

After walking along several corridors and a flight of stairs, the two students stood in front of Professor Blackwell's classroom door. Charlie looked over at Hermione and asked her softly, "Are you ready for this?"

Hermione nodded her head in determination, her eyes not leaving the door standing in front of them. Charlie gulped, raised his hand, and knocked on the door. The pounding echoed off of the quiet walls of the empty corridor, the sound reverberating through the shaking bodies of Charlie and Hermione.

After a moment, the pair heard a scuffle and soon after, Professor Blackwell opened the door, his face morphing from tiredness to surprise.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, this is a most welcome surprise! Come in, come in," Professor Blackwell said, motioning for them to step inside. "And what do I owe the two of you today?"

"Professor, we were coming back from the Quidditch pitch -," Hermione started but she was cut off by Professor Blackwell.

"Ah, yes, the first Quidditch game was today! How did it go?"

"Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw," Charlie stated; he noticed how his professor's eyes lit up at the news.  
"Excellent, excellent!" He clasped his hands together, a wide smile stretching over his face. "I'm sorry, Miss Granger, go on."

"Well, yes, um, anyway, Charlie and I were walking back from the Quidditch pitch and we found something on the floor." Hermione pulled the stack of papers out of her Hogwarts robes and handed them over to Professor Blackwell.

The smile their professor had worn mere moments ago had completely disappeared as he looked down at the pages, his brow pulled tightly together. The lines on his forehead became more apparent as he continued to flip page after page, not meeting his student's eyes.

"May I ask where exactly you found this," Professor Blackwell asked, his voice an eerie calm.

"On the second floor corridor," Hermione repeated her voice a whisper. Charlie reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it for support and to let her know he was here beside her.

"Have you told anyone of this?"

"No, we decided to come to your first, professor," Charlie replied. Professor Blackwell nodded his head in understanding before looking at the pair of them.

"My, my, my, you two surely know how to land yourselves into trouble," their professor stated. "My guess is that you're both wondering what these pages mean?"

"Actually, professor, something on the back page caught our attention. It says something about a 'time room' located in the Department of Mysteries," Charlie said. Professor Blackwell immediately turned to the last page and located the source of Charlie and Hermione's curiousness.

"Well, yes, Mr. Weasley, it does say that," Professor Blackwell said; it sounded to Charlie as if their professor was stalling their would-be conversation in order to make up something to tell Charlie and Hermione that would lead them away from the actual truth.

"Professor, what does this mean?" Hermione asked, looking from Charlie to their professor. "What does a 'time room' have to do with anything?"

"Well Miss Granger, I told you before about my brother Alex. He has done some detestable deeds under the reign of You-Know-Who but I had thought after his fall, he would've stopped. I've been a fool.

"I learned prior to starting teaching here that my brother has rallied together two other Death Eaters that work at the Dragon Reserve of Wales. And I've uncovered that the three of them have been planning something to do with the Ministry of Magic or to be more direct, the Department of Mysteries."

Professor Blackwell looked down at the stack of papers in his hands while Charlie and Hermione stared at him.

"I've done my research and I had guessed the three of them want something; something that the Department of Mysteries contains. I don't know if you know but inside the Department of Mysteries, they have workers there called the Unspeakables. They are called that because the work and study they do down on there is so imperative with such prominence, they are not allowed to talk about it; not even to their own spouses.

"The Unspeakables mainly study five branches of world secrecy: love, space, thought, time, and death. Of course there are others as well but those are the most known sources of their work. But there is something in that Time Room that my brother wants. How he found out about this is unclear to me and something that I'm trying to find out. But I know they want something from that room."

"What are you going to do about it," Charlie asked, feeling as if he already knew the answer.

"Well, I'm going to stop them of course. I've been closely tracking their whereabouts, having a friend that works with them. Anytime they do something suspicious, he sends me a message. But so far, they have not tried to break into the Department of Mysteries but I fear, their time is coming soon; very soon."

"Don't you think you should inform Professor Dumbledore of this, or at least someone who works in the Ministry," Hermione asked, her eyes wide at Professor Blackwell's conclusions over his brother.

"And what could they do, Miss Granger? As far I know, the Department of Mysteries is not easily accessible. I don't know much about the security the Ministry of Magic has in place but I can assure you that it is a very high level indeed. But this rivalry between my brother and myself has been nearly a decade in the making. Ever since he went off to join You-Know-Who, a hatred has sprung up between the two of us."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with worry.

"I mean, Miss Granger, is that a Death Eater murdered my parents."

Hermione gasped aloud as Charlie felt like he was going to be sick. The unsettling news from Professor Blackwell startled both students.

"The irony of it was, as you know, their initial support for You-Know-Who. Purebloods who were murdered by Death Eaters fighting for those deemed to study and wield magic. They thought they were safe when in fact in the end, they were hunted."

"Was it your brother, Alex," Hermione asked quietly, as Charlie himself feared what his answer would be.

"I don't think so. My brother was broken at their funeral. Their deaths seemed to enrage him even further into madness. Alex is the last of my blood line. But that is enough for today. I feel as if I've pressed enough of my own problems onto the two of you."

"Professor, we want to help you," Hermione said at once. At her words, Charlie's head shot over to her with a questioning look in his eyes. "I don't think you should go and fight this alone."

Professor Blackwell laughed a deep laugh. "True Gryffindors, always so noble and brave. Two qualities that are coveted by many yet owned by so few. I don't think it is wise for two young Hogwarts students to go and take on full-grown Death Eaters."

"But you said so yourself that we've done it before," Hermione countered.

"I didn't say you had taken on Death Eaters before; you took on Paul, yes, but he hardly qualifies as a Death Eater, Miss Granger."

"But we want to help, right Charlie?" Hermione's eyes darted over to Charlie who looked at her for a moment. The determination in her eyes was like a spark that electrified Charlie to want to help as well. Charlie nodded his head at Professor Blackwell.

"Well, I still don't think it would be safe for the two of you to venture off with me to the Ministry of Magic but if you like to do research, I could ask you to help me research the Hogwarts library for information it may have regarding the Department of Mysteries," Professor Blackwell stated, rubbing his chin as if pondering the thought.

Hermione nodded her head ferociously, saying, "We'll do it professor! I know my way around the Hogwarts library well."

Professor Blackwell looked down at Hermione and smiled. "Well, that's good enough for me then, Miss Granger. If you need a pass to the Restricted Section, I would be more than happy to write you one only to research what we have discussed, alright?" Professor Blackwell's eyes moved from Hermione over to Charlie, making sure they were absolutely clear on what they were to be researching.

Both students nodded their heads and left his classroom with Hermione's shoulders squared and her head held high. Charlie thought Hermione was obviously in her element at a time like this.

"Hermione, are we going to start now," Charlie asked as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Well, I was thinking yes. I'm just going to get some spare parchment and then I was going to head over there. Why?"

"Oh, I was just curious," Charlie replied. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He envisioned the rest of his afternoon to be spent with Hermione in total isolation over by the Black Lake.

Upon entering the common room, the pair was met with a burst of noise as the victory party was still in full swing from beating Ravenclaw in the first Quidditch match of the season.

"Charlie, where have you been, mate? We've been waiting for you," Adam called out, grabbing Charlie by his robes and swinging him into the middle of the room. People cheered all around them as red and gold confetti rained down from the ceiling.

One side of the common room was lined with tables with various foods covering the tops of it. Suddenly, Charlie was hoisted up on the shoulders of captain Mark Smith and beater Raymond Young.

"No really, guys, I have homework that I-," he was suddenly cut off when a loud _BANG_ was heard. He looked over the source of the noise and saw Fred and George throwing what looked like homemade fireworks into the air.

Small fireworks of bright colors burst around them as people cheered at the sight. Although Charlie was happy at their Gryffindor victory, he suddenly felt like he wanted to be anywhere but here. He looked over to find Hermione but couldn't see her anywhere. He then looked over towards the portrait hole and saw a mane of bushy hair push past it.

Charlie jumped off the shoulders of his fellow teammates and rush out of Gryffindor Tower before anyone had time to stop him.

Charlie dashed down a corridor and found Hermione walking alone with her bag slung over shoulder, towards the library. "Hermione!" She turned around and waited as Charlie ran up next to her. "There you are!"

"Charlie, I'll be okay one afternoon. If you want, you can go back and enjoy the party," she said.

"What? No, I don't want to be at that party. I just want to be with you," he replied. She smiled and grabbed his hand.

The pair walked over the library, having whispered conversations about the Department of Mysteries and everything Professor Blackwell had told them.

Upon entering the library, Charlie and Hermione got right to work, scouring the bookshelves for anything to do with the Department of Mysteries. There wasn't much of a selection but the pair brought every book back with them to a table they were sharing and began to research.

Charlie found the content fascinating; never before had he heard so much about the Department of Mysteries. The study that he was interested in the most was space: according to the book he was reading, only time and space were the limitations of magic.

Charlie looked over at Hermione sitting across from him and he smiled: she was taking dutiful notes as if she were righting an essay. Charlie turned his attention back on the book at hand.

After half an hour of researching, Hermione gasped aloud. Charlie, caught unaware, took out his wand and pointed it randomly. When he saw nothing there, Charlie looked over at Hermione quizzically but her head was buried in a book she was reading.

"What is it, Hermione," he asked.

"Charlie, I think I know what Alex wants to do."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Because it all makes sense! Everything fits!" Hermione looked up at Charlie, a weary look on her face. "Charlie, I think Alex is going to try and steal a time-turner and go back into the past."

Well, here is Chapter 9 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" Chapter 10 is a work-in-progress but due to my studies, it will be posted either late Thursday and mid-afternoon on Friday later this week. Until then, I hope you all read and review my latest chapter and don't forget to comment – I enjoy reading those! Please feel free to share with anyone who might like my story!


	10. Chapter 10: The Attempted Break-In

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 10: The Attempted Break-In

As Charlie ran, all he saw was Hermione's bushy mane of hair rushing past her. Both students fled from the library, much to the dismay of the Hogwarts librarian Madam Pince. Their Gryffindor robes were billowing behind them as the two of them ran along corridor after corridor, their shoes thundering against the concrete floors of the magical castle.

They passed under the citadel's many arches, huffing for breath, as Hermione's conclusion as to Professor Blackwell's brother's secret plan finally came to light in both of the students' heads.

They finally reached Professor Blackwell's classroom but they could not find the energy to raise one of their fists to knock. Hermione was leaning against one wall while Charlie had both of his hands on top of his short red hair, both trying to catch their breath.

Charlie mustered up what little energy he had left and knocked on their professor's door. After a quick moment, Professor Blackwell opened the door, surprise flicking over his face at the sight of two of his students.

"Why Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, to what do I owe such pleasure yet again," asked their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Professor, Hermione figured out about Alex and what he might be up to," Charlie said as Hermione came up behind him nodding.

Professor Blackwell looked down at the pair of them and seeing the seriousness on their faces, he beckoned them inside his empty classroom.

Charlie and Hermione entered the room and noticed only two candles placed on opposite sides of their professor's table were providing the only light to the room. They looked upon Professor Blackwell's desk and saw the papers they found in the corridor scattered across its surface.

Their professor strode past them, sat down at his desk, and clasped his hands together, looking at both Charlie and Hermione intently.

"Well what news, Miss Granger, do you think you've come across that concerns my brother?"

"Professor, Charlie and I were in the library researching the Department of Mysteries, and we noted what you said about the different subjects being studied there: love, space, thought, time, and death. I think your brother wants to steal a time-turner."

"A time-turner," asked Professor Blackwell, confusion etched across his face. "What would he want a time-turner for?"

"I don't know, but we came to you thinking you might have an idea," Charlie replied. Professor Blackwell inclined his head slightly to his right, the flames from the two candles masking his face in both light and darkness.

"My brother can be very unpredictable. I have no idea what he might want to do with a time-turner. I'm not ruling out your suggestion Miss Granger, but I cannot think of anything he might want to go back into the past and change. Mind you, especially with all of the difficulties involving time travel and magic, it's dangerous; very dangerous indeed."

At this, Hermione stepped forward and said, "Professor, I didn't tell Charlie this but I think I know what your brother wants a time-turner for."

"And what is that, Miss Granger?"

Hermione took a deep breath, looked at Charlie, and then turned her eyes to Professor Blackwell and stated, "I think your brother wants to prevent the fall of You-Know-Who."

One of the candle's flames flickered out with a _whisp_ yet no one noticed. Charlie was staring at Hermione with his mouth hanging open while Professor Roberts was stroking his chin, taking into consideration what Hermione had just said.

"Prevent the fall of You-Know-Who? Miss Granger, how did you come up with that?"

"Well, thinking about it logically, everything fits together: your brother was a former Death Eater. He was enjoying life while You-Know-Who wreaked havoc upon the Wizarding world. After his fall, your brother lost all favorability of his views on life because his master was gone.

"Now, according to you, he has two friends who were former Death Eaters, and they've been planning something. Something you didn't figure out because they were so secretive about it. They didn't tell you because they knew you would've done something to stop them only if you knew what their plans were."

Professor Roberts continued to look at Hermione. After a sigh, he said, "Miss Granger, one would think you were grasping at straws. However, you idea does make sense to me. But the new problem is when are they planning to act?"

At this, Charlie and Hermione looked at one another, the answer to his question lost on both of their faces.

"Professor, do you think it's logical to go back in time to try and stop the downfall of You-Know-Who," Charlie asked.

"Yes, I do, Mr. Weasley. You see, as the story goes, You-Know-Who traveled to a small village called Godric's Hollow. There, he murdered the Potter family. After casting the Killing Curse on the father and mother, You-Know-Who turned his wand on their newborn son, Harry Potter. For some unknown reason, the Killing Curse rebounded on its caster, and he was gone."

At Professor Blackwell's story, Hermione gasped aloud, clapping both of her hands over her mouth. "He tried to kill a baby?"

"Yes, young Harry Potter is whom he intended to kill. How he knew about Godric's Hollow and why he wanted to kill young Harry is anyone's guess for I do not know the answer."

"Where is Harry now," Charlie asked.

"As far as I know, he's living with some relatives of his, away from the fame and fortune that awaits him here at Hogwarts," Professor Blackwell replied.

In the seriousness of what he had just been told, Charlie inwardly smiled to himself, thinking Harry could enjoy growing up being a happy wizard, developing his magic with relatives of his own.

"I want to thank the two of you, however, for informing me of what you know. It means a lot," Professor Blackwell said, staring up at his two students. "Your former professor was right; you two do have an aptitude for trouble."

"Do you mean Professor Roberts," Hermione asked. Professor Blackwell smiled and nodded his head. Both Charlie and Hermione smiled in return.

"How is he," Charlie asked, wondering if their new professor would tell them about the whereabouts of their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Well, I have never met him. He sent me an owl the first day I arrived at Hogwarts. He mentioned the two of you though. As I've told you before, I know of your story and what you did last year."

"Are you still in communication with Professor Roberts," Charlie asked again.

"I'm afraid I'm not. He sent me that one owl but nothing ever came after that. But I'm sure he and Ailsa are perfectly fine and enjoying freedom. Now, it is late! The two of you need some rest. Off you go."

Charlie and Hermione turned away from their professor's desk, the flame of the candle starting to flicker about. When the door of his classroom shut, the last flame of the candle died out. And Professor Blackwell sat in total blackness with his hands clasped together resting under his chin, as he thought about time travel and Harry Potter.

The following day, Charlie and Hermione spent their time with Adam, Josh, and Tonks in the library, finishing off their essays and homework. Charlie saw that Adam strictly avoided any conversation with Tonks but instead, focused his attention on Charlie and Hermione.

Later that night, Charlie sat up in his four-poster bed, wondering about the whereabouts of Professor Roberts and Ailsa. He longed to see the dragon again, feeling as if he had some sort of stranger connection to the creature.

As he fell asleep, Charlie dreamed of flying on a dragon as it flew over a green countryside undergoing a vast sunset. The dragon beat its wings, flying away from the sun, as if trying to commemorate the final hours of daylight before darkness fell.

Charlie awoke the next morning to the sounds of both Adam and Josh having one of their many whispered conversations; this time however, in the silence of the early morning, Charlie could hear what they were saying.

"I just don't understand why you can't tell her," came the voice of Josh.

"Are you mad? I've been telling you ever since term started," Adam's voice replied.

"I know but I still don't understand."

"Listen, I just don't fancy being someone like that. I've seen Charlie at it and I just don't think I would be good enough for her," Adam said his voice much quieter than moments previous.

"I know Charlie sets a high-standard of sorts but everyone is different. Who's to say Tonks is like Hermione? To me, they're the complete opposite."

"I know, I know. I just don't think I'm ready."

"Whatever, mate. All I know is that you're losing time. Charlie took long enough with Hermione. He's been in love with her since first-year." Adam snickered at Josh's comments.

Charlie, throwing caution to the wind, ripped open the curtains of his four-poster bed and smiled triumphantly at the startled faces of Adam and Josh, both of them knowing they've been caught.

"So boys, still not fancy me finding out about what your whispered conversations were about?"

"Listen, um, mate, I don't think, well, you know, um, I-," stuttered Adam as Josh rolled his eyes.

"Adam fancies Tonks," Josh said. Adam's head whipped over to Josh, giving him a very cold look.

"Way to keep it a secret, Josh," Adam seethed.

"I don't understand why you couldn't just tell me," Charlie replied, folding his arms over his chest.

"What, is mocking not part of your morning inventory, Charlie?" Adam asked, his face contorted in embarrassment.

"I guess it doesn't come as much of a surprise to me seeing as how you've been acting around Tonks for a while," Charlie replied.

"See, I told you! People have been noticing! I'm telling you Adam, Tonks may already know!"

"Which only makes it worse seeing as she hasn't said or done anything about it," Adam said, his voice laced with disappointment.

"Well, it's not like you've been acting nice around her. You did ignore her all day in the library yesterday," Josh reasoned.

Charlie decided to cut in. "What did you two mean when you said 'I set a high-standard'."

"We mean the high-standard of how you treat Hermione. You're a complete gentleman to her."

"As it should be," Charlie countered.

Josh put up his hands. "Don't attack me over it! I'm just informing you of what the 'high-standard' was!"

"Whatever, I can't take this so early in the morning," Adam wailed, getting off of his bed and reaching for a clean shirt. "But not a word to anyone, including Hermione," Adam threatened, turning to stare at Charlie with an eyebrow quirked up.

"Okay, okay," Charlie said. "Well let's go down and get some breakfast, shall we?"

The rest of the day passed by without incident. However, for the rest of the week, Charlie and Hermione paid very close attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts, practicing with all of their might on Professor Blackwell's "practical application."

Charlie and Hermione wanted to prove to their professor that they were ready and able to venture with him down to the Department of Mysteries to stop his brother, rather than just being research assistants for their professor.

The weeks started to pass by more quickly as the cold weather became more pronounced. Snow started to fall more frequently as the Christmas holiday was rapidly approaching. Charlie had asked Hermione, with extreme apprehension, if she would like to stay at the Burrow for Christmas. Hermione happily agreed.

The morning before their departure, the Owl Post arrived, delivering Josh his Daily Prophet. Josh unfurled the paper as his owl took flight but seconds after, Josh gasped aloud. Charlie, Hermione, and Adam looked over at him with questioning looks on their faces.

"Look at this," he said, as he spread the paper out in between the four of them. On the front page, a headline read, " **ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN: DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES"**.

Charlie and Hermione looked at each other, the recognition dawning over their faces. At once, they both turned to look up at the staff table and they noted two seats were empty: the seat of Professor Dumbledore and the seat of Professor Blackwell.

As Adam and Josh discussed this new development, Hermione leaned closer to Charlie and asked, "Do you think it was him? Do you think it was Alex?"

"I don't know for sure but who else would want to break into the Department of Mysteries?"

"Charlie, I think many people would want to break in but I don't think many people would have enough courage to actually attempt to do so," Hermione replied.

"Perhaps. I just wish we knew where Professor Blackwell is."

"You don't think he's hurt, do you," Hermione asked, looking back over at the staff table. "Because Professor Dumbledore is gone too."

"I don't know. But if Professor Dumbledore is with Professor Blackwell, then we have nothing to worry about."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding but the pair of them could not help but think about the attempted break-in for the rest of the day.

The following morning, the Hogwarts students that were taking the Hogwarts Express back home to spend the holidays with their families boarded the train at Hogesmade Station. Snow had begun to fall over the village of Hogesmade as the train departed from the platform.

As the train travelled over a snow-ridden landscape, the tension Charlie had felt when reading about the attempted break-in into the Department of Mysteries now converted over to tension of having Hermione over at the Burrow for winter break.

Once the train pulled into King's Cross Station in London, Charlie and Hermione bid their good-byes to Adam, Josh, and Tonks, and headed over to Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny as they were followed by Percy, Fred, and George. Mrs. Weasley took turns hugging each of her sons and then Hermione as well.

"Oh Hermione! How wonderful it is for you to stay with us!"

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Weasley, for having me," Hermione replied.

Charlie smiled at the exchange as they passed through the barrier away from Platform 9¾.

As the family made their way back to the Burrow, Charlie thought about the time he and Hermione could spend together over the break. He planned to push the thoughts of Professor Blackwell's brother, Alex, out of his mind so he could enjoy his time with his family and his girlfriend.

Upon his return to Hogwarts, he would then focus his attention on helping Professor Blackwell in stopping his brother from entering into the Department of Mysteries. But one thing was for sure: Charlie was going to help Professor Blackwell. What Charlie didn't know was that his help was going to come sooner rather than later.

-  
Well, I hoped you enjoyed Chapter 10 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" Chapter 11 is a work-in-progress and will be posted either later tonight or sometime in the afternoon tomorrow. The time is getting closer and closer for Charlie and Hermione…that is all I'll say about that! Thank you to all who reviewed thus far! Don't forget to read, review, and share with your friends if you think they might enjoy my story!


	11. Chapter 11: A Colorful Christmas

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 11: A Colorful Christmas

Spending Christmas with Hermione was a time Charlie cherished. Much of their winter break was spent outdoors. Snow continued to fall, day after day, as the entire Weasley clan would go outside and enjoy the cold weather.

Charlie and Hermione would stroll away from the Burrow together, hand-in-hand, bundled up collectively in winter outfits to protect themselves from the bitter cold.

On Christmas Eve, Charlie decided to take Hermione out for a ride on his broomstick as the pair had not been out flying once since winter break started.

As the two straddled Charlie's broomstick, Hermione wrapped her arms around Charlie's center, holding onto him for both body warmth and because she was still nervous about flying. Charlie flew his broomstick up and over the Burrow, as the sting from the cold surrounded Charlie and Hermione.

Charlie decided to fly his broomstick slower than he usually would have because he didn't think Hermione could handle both the freezing temperatures plus the cold wind from flying his broomstick. Quite frankly, he didn't think he would be able to handle it either.

They flew over a bundle of trees nestled together, the leaves white from the continuous snowfall. Charlie then flew the broom close to a nearby village; the village streets were packed with last-minute shoppers as the store windows were brightly lit.

Christmas lights were strung up on top of every store, the bright lights twinkling merrily against the cold, dark night. Some shoppers had their gloved hands shoved into their jackets to keep away from the cold while other shoppers had their hands full of both small and large packages.

The village courtyard had a statue memoriam. The statue was of a group of men all adorned in British military uniforms as the flag of England was behind them.

"That is from a war called World War II," Charlie commented, flying as close as he would dare towards the Muggle village, pointing at the memoriam to Hermione. "In memory of those who lost their lives during that war."

While flying in the air, more snow started to fall. Charlie flew his broomstick away from the village as they traveled on in silence. Charlie passed over a pond whose waters had completely frozen over. As Charlie and Hermione flew above it, they could clearly see their reflection on the thin ice that laced the surface of the freezing waters as snow drifted slowly down all around them.

Charlie then maneuvered his broomstick to fly into a small forest with its trees situated far apart. Charlie stopped his broomstick and turned to face Hermione. He noticed her cheeks were flushed with coldness and he smiled.

"Hermione, I wanted to tell you how happy I am you agreed to come with me back to my home over break," Charlie said.

"Charlie, I'm honestly happy you invited me. If you hadn't, I would've stayed at Hogwarts," she replied. "But, I guess the correct response would be, you're welcome."

Charlie laughed at Hermione's response. "It's just that, well, what I'm trying to say is that I'm happy I know you. That sounds weird and all but I don't know how else to tell you how I feel." Charlie turned away, embarrassed by his sudden emotional outpouring.

"Charlie, expressing yourself can be hard at times. But you can count on me, right here, right now. Don't feel ashamed. I think it's sweet, actually."

Charlie turned back around to face Hermione who was smiling at him. Her warm, brown eyes were like two pits, filled with both happiness and comfort; Charlie felt as if he could lose himself forever in her gaze.

Slowly, Charlie leaned closer and closer to Hermione. They both closed their eyes but opened them suddenly when they saw a whirl of color behind their eyelids.

Fairies started to unveil themselves out from behind thick brushes of leaves and from the branches of the forests' trees. Twinkling in red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and purple, the fairies flew around Charlie and Hermione, their light blinking in the darkness and stillness of this cold, Christmas Eve night.

Once again, Charlie and Hermione shut their eyes and leaned forward. Their lips met innocently and softly, as the fairies flew around them in a fluid, circular motion. The night was calm and silent, no wind of which to shudder from, with the snowfall as quiet as the still air. No creatures but the fairies lurked about as no human came wandering into this cluster of trees that Charlie and Hermione were hovering in.

Slowly, the two drifted apart, opening their eyes slowly. The fairies broke their path of flying and drifted upwards, their bright, twinkling, colorful lights becoming lost from the thick overgrowth of the trees.

Charlie smiled at Hermione before he turned back around and flew his broomstick out from the under the foliage of the trees and back towards the Burrow. Upon approaching his home, Charlie inwardly sighed, seeing different lights on through the windows of his home's towering structure.

As Charlie flew near the broom shed, a sudden explosion of fireworks burst suddenly in bright colors of red and purple. The blast was so sudden, Hermione loosed her grip on Charlie as she fell off the broom.

Charlie's expert seeker skills dived down and caught Hermione before she could fall onto the hard ground.

Charlie then lowered his broomstick, looking around for the source of the detonation. He then saw a small rocket launch itself towards him and Hermione.

"Get down!" Charlie screamed out suddenly, pulling Hermione down towards the ground. The rocket ricocheted off of one of the broom shed's walls and bounced back into a nearby tree. There was a loud _BANG_ and the tree was suddenly covered in bright blue and yellow embers which floated down onto the roof of the broom shed.

Charlie looked into the darkness and suddenly realized who was causing all the sudden commotion. "Fred! George! What are you two doing!"

"We're just celebrating! What's Christmas Eve without little fireworks," asked Fred.

"You should be the one to talk, Charlie, taking Hermione on yet another broomstick ride," George countered.

"We haven't been flying once since we came back from Hogwarts," Charlie replied.

"Oh, are you not counting on the entire summer when you snuck out every night for a midnight ride," Fred asked.

"Oh shut it," Charlie said, his face burning red as he slung his broomstick over his shoulder. "Anyway, what do you think mum and dad are going to say when they know you're causing a ruckus late at night," Charlie asked.

"You call our fireworks creation a ruckus, do you," George asked. "My dear, sweet, love-struck brother, you jest."

Fred and George walked over to Charlie and Hermione, their hands filled with their own fireworks creations.

"Fred, George, how do these things work," Hermione asked. "They don't have any lighters to set them off?"

"Oh, Hermione, Hermione, Hermione, what a Muggle thing to say," Fred teased. Charlie shoved him in the shoulder, giving him a warning glare but Fred just laughed.

"Here hold these for a second," George said, shoving four rockets into Hermione's hands. Fred and George turned and took out a much bigger rocket from under the root of a tree.

"Why on earth would you put a rocket there," Charlie asked.

"Well, we did bury it so mum wouldn't find it but since the ground froze over last week, we've been hiding it here," George explained.

"We've been waiting for this night to test it, and now since the night is here and the night is young, we're going to give it a go," Fred finished.

"You're just going to launch that thing in the sky," Charlie asked, uncertain with his brother's plans for the rocket.

"Why not," they replied in unison.

"You guys are going to burn something down," Charlie said, laughing quietly.

"Dear Charlie, you have so little faith in us. How shameful," George mocked while Charlie rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, the four rockets Hermione were holding darted out of her hands, flying towards the broom shed. Fred and George's heads snapped over to the now airborne rockets, their eyes wide with wonder.

Two of the rockets collided with each other in mid-air while the other two slammed through on the broom shed's windows, shattering the glass. A sudden burst of orange and green exploded in front of the broom shed while another explosion in the shack sent out yellow and purple embers out of the newly-broken window.

The colorful embers lit up the black night as they danced around in the air before dissipating into nothingness.

"Jeez Hermione, if you were so anxious to set off the fireworks, all you had to do as ask," Fred said.

"I didn't. They just flew out of my hands," Hermione said.

"What are you doing out here!"

Fred and George's eyes widened at the sound of the voice. "Oh no! It's mum!" And within a second, the four scattered in different directions, Hermione taking off with Fred while Charlie raced in the opposite direction with George.

Charlie and George raced around to the reverse side of the broom shed. He craned his neck to look around the corner and saw Hermione and Fred take off to hide behind the trunk of the nearest tree.

"Charlie, your girlfriend is quite the troublemaker," George said, giving his older brother a wicked smile. "I didn't know she had that in her."

"I'm sure she didn't set those off on purpose, seeing as you and Fred were taking a go at her for saying something 'so Muggle'," Charlie countered.

"Listen mate, I support you and your trouble-making girlfriend," George replied, patting Charlie's back.

"Oh come off it!"

Charlie and George suddenly heard a figure approach the opposite side of the broom shed of which they were hiding.

"Oh those boys! Going off and breaking windows with their silly creations! They'll soon start deconstructing the house," came the shrill voice of Mrs. Weasley.

"Now you're girlfriend is getting us into trouble," whispered George. Charlie put up a finger to his mouth to silence him.

Mrs. Weasley stalked away from the boom shed, muttering under breath but Charlie could have sworn he heard the phrases "where did we go wrong" and "silly creations".

Once he was sure his mum had gone inside the Burrow, he and George carefully snuck around the broom shed to survey the broken window.

"Well, at least it's not too much of a fix," Charlie said. He heard footsteps behind him and saw Hermione and Fred walk towards them.

"Oh Charlie! I'm so sorry about breaking your window! I promise I'll pay for it," pleaded Hermione.

"Hermione, honestly, it's no big deal. Just a wave of a wand from dad and it'll be good as new," Charlie comforted, walking over to Hermione and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go back up." With that, the four headed up to the Burrow.

Inside, Charlie remembered how when Hermione first arrived at the Burrow, Charlie and Mrs. Weasley out-right refused Hermione's offer to sleep on the couch in the living room. They insisted she sleep up in Bill and Charlie's room while Bill and Charlie slept down in the living room. The three of them had gone on for ten minutes of back and forth, when Hermione finally relented.  
Hermione bid everyone a good night and headed upstairs into Bill and Charlie's bedroom.

As Charlie spread out bed sheets over one of the couches, Bill asked, "So, you and Hermione are kind of serious, aren't you?"  
Charlie looked over his shoulder at Bill who staring at the slowly dying fire in the grate. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Bill laughed and replied, "Oh you two…so young yet so in love. I was right about you all along, then."

Charlie turned around to face Bill, his arms folded over his chest, an eyebrow quirked up in confusion.

"I always said you liked Hermione. But you never had the nerve to tell her yourself. I remember watching the two of you last year. It was so obvious from you that you had feelings for her. It wasn't quite so obvious if she had feelings for you but now, I guess we know the answer to that."

"She's so different, Bill. I just like the idea of being around her and spending time with her. It feels so good and I feel at peace. I don't know why I feel the way I do, but I just do," Charlie replied, lying down on the couch that was to be his bed for the remainder of the break.

"I guess that's what love feels like," Bill suggested.

"Is this what love is? I thought it was different," Charlie replied.

"Yeah? How so?"

"I don't know…but I didn't think it was this; not that I'm complaining or anything," Charlie said.

"Well, anyway, good night Charlie," Bill said, flicking his wand as the lights went out.

"'Night Bill." The fire in the grate went out mere minutes after the two brothers bid each other a good night.

The next morning, Bill and Charlie were woken up by Ron and Ginny thundering down the stairs to open their presents. They were followed by Fred, George, Percy, Hermione, and their parents.

Everyone opened their presents from Mrs. Weasley as they all received sweatshirts she had knit with their first initials sewn into the fabric; Hermione got a midnight blue sweatshirt as she noted it was the same color as Charlie's.

Hermione had given Charlie a self-kit broom prepare for his Cleansweep Six, the broom Hermione had given to Charlie the previous year as a late Christmas present.  
Charlie had gotten Hermione a necklace with a violet dragon pendent, in memory of Ailsa. Charlie had wrapped the necklace around Hermione's neck and gave her a soft kiss. She smiled as Mrs. Weasley called out, "Okay, let's all have a spot of Christmas breakfast!"

The Weasley's and Hermione all made their way into the Burrow's kitchen, Hermione sitting in between Bill and Charlie.

During the breakfast, Ginny had accidentally kicked Ron's shins which caused him to spill his Pumpkin Juice all over Fred's scrambled eggs. In retaliation, Fred threatened to fill Ron's bed with spiders which caused Ron to turn a deathly pale. Mrs. Weasley started scolding Fred for his threat to his younger brother while George, Bill, and Charlie laughed uncontrollably.

The remainder of the break was spent in peace, with the snow continuing to fall yet the happiness of family and peace was felt throughout the entire Burrow. Charlie said quite sad to say goodbye to the coziness he had felt during his entire winter break. But soon, Charlie, Hermione, Percy, Fred, and George found themselves all boarding the Hogwarts Express.

As Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny waved goodbye from the platform, Charlie and Hermione found Adam, Josh, and Tonks.

During the train ride, Charlie noted that Adam was being overly-polite to Tonks of which she seemed to notice.

"Is there something up with Adam," Hermione asked Charlie quietly. "He's been acting so strange to Tonks."

"I-well, yeah, I guess he, um, feels like he wants to um, talk to her like that," stuttered Charlie, trying to cover for one of his best friends.

"Charlie, you are a horrible liar," laughed Hermione. The tips of Charlie's ears turned scarlet at her comment.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogesmade Station, Charlie and Hermione were one of the last to exit the train. However, Professor Blackwell suddenly approached them, worry etched into the lines on his face.

"Professor, did you have a good holiday," Charlie asked.

"Fine, fine holiday," he replied.

"Professor, is there something wrong," Hermione asked, noticing his hands were wrangling his scarf.

"Well, yes, something is of the matter. But I don't think you two should know about this," he replied.

Charlie and Hermione looked at one another in confusion. "Is everything alright, professor," Charlie asked.

"Alex is planning to break into the Department of Mysteries tonight."

-  
Well, here is the finished product of Chapter 11 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I hoped you all enjoyed it! Chapter 12 is a work-in-progress and will be posted sometime Friday night. Don't forget to read and review and share with your friends!


	12. Chapter 12: Emprise to the Citadel

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 12: Emprise to the Citadel

Charlie and Hermione traded shocked expressions at Professor Blackwell's news. With winter break just ending, Charlie had expected one last free night with Hermione before classes started again the following day.

"Are you sure, professor," Hermione asked, nervousness lacing through her voice. Professor Blackwell nodded, his face a solemn mask of mixed emotions. He rubbed the back of his neck and turned away from his students, trying to hide his mounting frustration.

"Are you going to the ministry tonight," Charlie asked. Professor Blackwell looked back at both of his students over his shoulder, his gaze intent and determined.

"Yes, I am going to the ministry tonight," he replied.

"But how do you know your brother is planning this tonight, professor," Hermione asked, her hands clasped together.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore is supposedly out of the country. Do you remember me telling you I had an inside source that worked at the Dragon Reserves of Wales with my brother? He informed me that tonight is the night they are going to break-in. Apparently the waited until they were sure to be clear from Dumbledore."

The snow drifted down to the ground in slow circles, as daylight was nearing its end. Soon, all of Hogesmade Village will be plunged into darkness.

"Well, how are we going to get there," Charlie asked. At his question, Professor Blackwell gave Charlie a very surprised look.

"Mr. Weasley, 'we' are not going anywhere. I am going to the ministry, alone. What would make you think I would take the two of you?"

"If you didn't plan on taking us, professor, you would've never told us about your plans to go the ministry in the first place," Charlie countered.

Professor Blackwell looked at Charlie and then at Hermione, studying his two students. "Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, be warned that this is not some fun adventure to go on. My brother and the other Death Eaters will not hesitate to kill you. I understand you are two are very skilled at magic but you are not dueling your peers; you will be dueling with followers of You-Know-Who and trust me, they do not play nicely."

"We understand, professor, but trust me when I say, we are going with you," Charlie replied, his gaze staring intently into the black eyes of his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Fine, but I'm telling you now that I cannot protect you at all times. You must be able to fend for yourselves. Is that clear?"

"Is what clear," asked a voice from behind Charlie and Hermione. The two turned as they saw both Adam and Josh walking towards them. "Is what clear, professor?"

"No, I cannot take all of you," Professor Blackwell said suddenly, and Charlie noted their professor had fear pooling in his eyes.

"But professor, maybe they can help! The four of us have been studying extremely hard in your classes so far for the entire term! Adam and Josh could help us fend off Alex," Hermione suggested, her voice alight with determination. "Having a bigger group could even the odds."

"Hermione, we don't even know if they want to go," Charlie said.

"Who is Alex," Josh asked.

"They don't even know the entire story," Professor Blackwell mumbled.

"ENOUGH!" Everyone at once ceased talking as Adam raised his two hands in the air, calling for quiet.

"First of all, Hermione is right. Josh and I have been studying from you, Professor Blackwell and I believe we are both able to do what is to be done. Second of all, what is to be done?"

Charlie rolled his eyes and looked at Professor Blackwell. The two stared at each other for a moment before Professor Blackwell nodded his head at Charlie.

"Professor Blackwell has a brother named Alex who was a former Death Eater. Professor Blackwell has learned from an inside source that works close with Alex, that he and two other Death Eaters are planning to break into the Department of Mysteries to steal a time turner.

"Hermione believes they wish to steal a time-turner to go back into the past to stop the downfall of You-Know-Who. Now, we are planning to go to the Ministry of Magic in London to fend them off."

When Charlie had finished, Adam and Josh had their mouths hanging open. "Blimey," Josh said.

"There is no time, Mr. Bones and Mr. Creevey. Are you in or are you out? I will tell you the same thing I told Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger: I will not be able to protect you at all times. These Death Eaters will not hesitate to kill you. Remember, they have lost everything with the fall of You-Know-Who."

"I'm in," said Adam, apparently getting over what he was about to do.

"So am I," agreed Josh.

"Well, the next problem is how are we going to get there," Professor Blackwell asked no one in particular. "You cannot apparite, can you," he asked the four students.

"No, currently, they teach us apparition in our seventh year though professors have been debating about teaching students in their sixth years since 1855. I read about in _Hogwarts, A History_ ," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay, so apparition is out," Professor Blackwell said.

"How about we fly?" Charlie suggested. "I have my broom still on the train and I know Adam has a broom as well, right?" Adam nodded his head.

"Fine, get your brooms. Hermione you'll be with Charlie, Josh you ride with Adam," Professor Blackwell said, before Charlie and Adam raced back on the Hogwarts Express. A few moments later, they jumped back onto the platform, broomsticks in their hands.

"Professor, are we to follow you? I don't know where the Ministry of Magic is," Charlie reasoned.

"Oh don't worry, Mr. Weasley, I have a broomstick too." With a wave of his wand, Professor Blackwell's broomstick materialized out of thin air. He mounted it as Hermione climbed behind Charlie and Josh climbed on behind Adam. "Okay, get ready now. Remember, we are headed to the Ministry of Magic." With that, Professor Blackwell took off from the Hogesmade Platform, flying into the grey clouds that hung over the village.

Charlie and Adam followed as both Hermione and Josh clung on as the three broomsticks took off with sudden speed. Charlie kept his eyes on Professor Blackwell as they flew through and over the clouds. Charlie saw a blood-red sun beginning to set, its deep red colors obscured by thick clouds from down below.

Professor Blackwell flew his broom straight into the ball of fire as Charlie and Adam followed, grimness etched into both of their faces. Charlie did not know what he was flying into at the Ministry of Magic. While heroic, maybe it was plain foolishness that led the four students to follow their professor to try and stop Death Eaters from stealing a time-turner from the Department of Mysteries.

If his mum had any idea what he was doing at the present moment, he was sure he would have bars on his window in an instant.

As the sun sank into the sky, darkness slowly overtook the light. Stars started to peek out as the clouds underneath the flying broomsticks started to thin considerably. Charlie looked down and saw many small lights peeking down into the streets below.

He could see miniature cars winding down different neighborhoods, going back to their home after a long day at work. The lights became more pronounced as they approached London. In all of its towering glory, the steel and glass that constituted much of London's rising skyscrapers gleamed in bright lights against the pitch-black sky.

As they passed over the Westminster Bridge, Charlie could see Elizabeth Tower, the wondrous clock tower gleaming brightly along with the Palace of Westminster off of the River Thames. They then passed over Trafalgar Square and Charlie could barely make out Nelson's Column situated in the center of the open space.

Soon after, Charlie could see Professor Blackwell plunging downwards. He and Adam followed suit, maneuvering their broomsticks so they faced down towards the ground. Professor Blackwell finally landed in an alley, as Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh flew up behind him and dismounted their brooms.

"Where are we," Adam asked, looking around.

"This Mr. Bones, is the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic."

"This is the visitor's entrance into the ministry? What an awful place for the ministry to be," Josh said and Charlie quite agreed with his assessment. There was a large dumpster situated near a red telephone box which was in front of a brick wall with graffiti plastered all over its surface. Charlie noticed the red telephone kiosk had some of its window panes smashed out.

"The ministry had to find a place where Muggles couldn't haphazardly wander onto its premises. So here is where the ministry is," replied Professor Blackwell. "Now, all of you, put your broomsticks behind the dumpster and get into the telephone booth," their professor instructed.

Charlie and Adam did as they were told and the five of them squeezed into the red kiosk. "Okay, let's see here," Charlie heard Professor Blackwell mumble. "Six two four four two."

A voice suddenly rang out from within the booth. "Welcome to the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic in London. Please state your name and purpose of your visit."

"Sean Blackwell, Charlie Weasley, Hermione Granger, Adam Bones, and Joshua Creevey. Um, we're here to fend off Death Eaters?"

"Thank you for your information. Please take the following badges and show them to the guard before entering into the Ministry of Magic. Have a wonderful day."

Five badges flew out of the metal chute where coins would have usually appeared. Professor Blackwell handed them out to everyone in the booth. When Charlie received his, he gazed down at the badge and saw that it read: "Charlie Weasley: Death Eater Prevention Mission."

Suddenly, the floor of the red booth began to slowly sink. Charlie watched as the pavement of London's city streets started to rise over the glass panes of the telephone box as the four students and their professor started to sink down in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic.

Then, a bright light started to spread around their feet. Soon after, the telephone box slowly sank down onto the black tiled floor in the atrium of the ministry.

Josh slid open the door to the red booth and its occupants filed out of it. They all stared in wonder as they stood in the massive atrium. Charlie looked to his right and left and saw many gold grilles set up for people to floo into the ministry. Fireplace after fireplace lined the walls leading up to a massive golden fountain containing a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf, jets of water protruding from wands, arrows, and hats of the different sculptures.

This golden fountain towered over the now-empty ministry atrium, with the wizard and witch towering at least twenty feet high. Charlie looked over and saw Hermione stare angrily at the house-elf who seemed to be the smallest of all of the figurines and seemed to be horribly disfigured. Charlie grabbed her hand and rubbed small circles over her skin, trying to soothe her. Professor Blackwell walked past the two of them, flanked by both Adam and Josh as Charlie tugged on Hermione's hand and led her away from the fountain.

The five walked over to the lifts and the golden grilles of the lift clanged apart, its sound echoing off of the wide atrium. Charlie looked behind him to see if there was any movement as he felt the sound of the grilles could wake half of London as it was so noisy.

The four students crammed into the lift behind their professor. As Professor Blackwell looked down at the many buttons leading off to different levels within the Ministry, Hermione said, "It's level nine, professor. I saw it in one of the books from the Hogwarts Library."

Professor Blackwell nodded and pushed the "nine" button. Instantly, the lift plummeted into shadows, rattling with its descent.

"Professor, don't you think it's odd there is no security within the ministry atrium," Adam asked. Charlie noticed how his voice had an undercurrent of fear.

"Yes, Mr. Bones, I do find it very strange indeed. I presume that my brother and the other Death Eaters are here already."

The lift they were riding in suddenly stopped and the grills nosily slammed open, revealing a long tunnel of black tile leading to a door at its far end.

"Level Nine: The Department of Mysteries," came the female voice as the five stepped out into the dark passageway.

Professor Blackwell took out his wand as did his four students as they started to slowly walk towards the door. Charlie's breath quickened as did his heartbeat as they all approached the door waiting for them to enter but beyond the door, they were walking into the unknown.

Charlie glanced over at Hermione and saw a serious look plastered on her face, her wand drawn, prepared. Their footsteps squeaked quietly against the black tiled floor, its surface so clear, Charlie could see their reflections off of it. Brackets were paced evenly against the walls, with bright blue flames protruding outward.

It seemed to take them forever to reach the door standing opposite of the lift yet, finally, the door stood before them. Professor Blackwell turned his head to look at his companions.

"Miss Granger, do you know what lies beyond this door? Did that book of yours tell you?"

"No, all the book said was the subjects that were studied in the Department of Mysteries. It contained nothing after that."

"Okay, so we do not know what lies beyond this door. I want to you all to be prepared and stick together. We are now going to venture into the haunted secrets of the ministry." Slowly, Professor Blackwell reached out and pushed open the door.

The five stepped through the door and found themselves standing in a circular room with many doors leading off of it. As Charlie stepped over the threshold, he noticed the floor of this circular room was a smooth black marble. In fact, the entire room was black with the only light coming from the bright blue flames contained in brackets placed along the walls of the room.

Suddenly, the door of the circular room slammed shut. Everyone jumped as Hermione quickly grabbed Charlie's arm with surprising strength. Then, the circular room started to spin at an increasing rate, the blue flames becoming a blur with the spinning motion.

Charlie felt as if he was going to be sick as the walls of the room spun faster and faster as he heard Hermione gasp out. Then, in the next instant, the walls of the room stopped spinning as the blue flames licked the thick air that hung within the room.

Charlie's eyes began to water in pain as Hermione still had a vice-like grip on his arm. "What just happened," came the quiet voice of Josh, his eyes wide with fear.

"It seems as if the room is trying to confuse us so we cannot find the way out easily," came the voice of Professor Blackwell.

"Does that mean we're trapped?"

"No, no, Mr. Creevey. I assure you that we are not trapped. But finding our way out will be a challenge. Now remember, my brother is looking to infiltrate the time room. I have no idea what it is to look like so be on your guard."

Professor Blackwell walked over to one of the many doors and pushed it open. They all peered inside after Professor Blackwell into a room that housed a massive glassed tank filled with green liquid. Inside, Charlie could see what looked like small, round objects floating within the murky waters of the tank.

"What are those things," Adam asked, about to step over the threshold. But before he could do so, Professor Blackwell grabbed his arm and pushed him back.

"Do not go inside. I told you before, I have no idea what lies with the Department of Mysteries. Much of this information is kept completely secret from the Wizarding community and I can assure you one thing: this is a very dangerous place, Mr. Bones. Do not go in."

Just before Professor Blackwell was about to shut the door, Hermione cried, "Wait!" Their professor turned around to look at Hermione with a surprise look across his face. "I have an idea that might make this easier!"

Hermione purposefully walked over to the still-open door. She pointed her wand at the door and yelled, " _FLAGRATE_!" Fire burst out from the tip of her wand as the door was now marked with an _X_ which was bursting in orange light.

"Quick thinking, Miss Granger; very impressive," said Professor Blackwell. "Now comes the question: will that _X_ hold through?" Their professor closed the door of the room with the tank of brains. As soon as the door slammed shut, the room began to spin again. But this time, the four students and their professor could make out the blue flames along with the orange flames from Hermione's spell.

Nonetheless, Hermione had run over to Charlie as the room started spinning. He wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders, pulling her closer into his chest as he closed his eyes in order to keep from feeling dizzy.

Once the room stopped, Professor Blackwell walked over to another door and swung it open. Inside, the room seemed to sparkle in absolute brilliance. The room dazzled with thousands of what seemed to be brightly-lit diamonds. Professor Blackwell stepped over the threshold as Adam, Josh, Charlie, and Hermione followed.

Inside, they walked into a massive four-walled room. Against one wall stood a massive bookcase; against another, at least one-hundred clocks adorned every inch of the wall space. However, what caught Charlie's eye was another glassed tank. This tank was much smaller from the one he had seen before as this tank stood on a stone pedestal.

Yet inside the tank, Charlie was witnessing a birth and death of a tiny yellow bird. Hermione walked over to Charlie and the two saw a small egg appear in the lightly-tinged blue waters of the tank. The egg then hatched and out flew a baby bird, yellow in appearance, as it spread its tiny wings. The tank then seemed to fast-forward through time as the bird suddenly grew to its fullest size. The beautiful creature then died and another egg reappeared.

"This is it. This is the Time Room," came the voice of Professor Blackwell. "This is the room Alex planned to infiltrate."

"Oh my dear brother, we have already infiltrated the room." At the sound of another voice, Professor Blackwell and his four students whipped out their wands and pointed them at three protruding figures, appearing out of the shadows of another wall.

"How foolish of you all to come here tonight. Death certainly awaits."

WOW! I had so much fun writing this chapter! And I hoped you enjoyed reading it as well! I know I ended this on a cliff-hanger but do not fret! Chapter 13 of "And Gryffindor Rebels" is a work-in-progress and it will be posted Saturday night! Don't forget to read and review and share with those who you think might like it! And of course, all credit goes to J.K. Rowling, creator and author of "Harry Potter!"


	13. Chapter 13: Flight from Death Eaters

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 13: Flight from Death Eaters

Charlie saw the man who spoke to them was Professor Blackwell's brother, Alex, the Death Eater who worked at the Dragon Reserve of Wales. His face was contorted into a wicked sneer, as if suggesting he would murder his own brother plus the four students.

Hermione inched closer to Charlie and grabbed his hand. The room was still dazzling with the bright lights of all of the clocks on the wall as the yellow bird continued its endless circle of life in the tank placed against a far wall.

Two other shadows emerged after Alex, masks obscuring their faces, wands drawn and pointed at Professor Blackwell, Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh.

"So, brother, are you going to enlighten me on how you knew about my plans to venture into the Time Room," Alex questioned, his head cocked slightly to one side.

Charlie looked at Professor Blackwell's impassive face as he replied, "I had my ways of finding out what trouble you were up to. We also know of your plans to steal a time-turner and try to prevent the fall of You-Know-Who."

Alex's eyes darted swiftly over the students as they stared up in terror at their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's brother. "And you brought your students? Do they know they face death tonight? Have you told them there is no getting out of here alive?" Alex's voice rang around the Time Room, no trace hint of humor or wit.

Professor Blackwell looked back at his students with uncertainty, his eyebrows pulled together as he gulped. "You would harm young students, would you? Are you all so depraved that the murder of underage witches and wizards excites you?"

"I have nothing against these students, Blackwell, however, I know someone who does," said Alex. Charlie for a split second how he thought it was strange Alex called his own brother by their last names, when he was distracted when Alex looked over his shoulder and one of the two figures stepped forward.

He waved his wand over his face and his Death Eater mask dissipated in a wisp of black smoke. Charlie and Hermione gasped as they now faced Paul, the dragon reserve worker from the previous year who unsuccessfully tried to capture Ailsa from the Forbidden Forest.

"How have you been, my two dear Gryffindors," he asked, he voice shaking with suppressed rage. "I kid you not, Azkaban was not kind to me. And I will not be kind to you."

Charlie instinctively stepped in front of Hermione at which Paul threw his head back and laughed a bitter hoot.

"So you think a sixth-year can stop me? You foolish boy, I am a servant of the Dark Lord, a name which you all fear to speak! A little red-haired blood traitor is no match for my power," snarled Paul.

"You say no sixth-years can stop you? Then how is it that two fifth-years stopped not only you but your whole hoard of dragon reserve workers last year in the Forbidden Forest," Charlie shot back, not knowing where his sudden courageousness was coming from.

Charlie thought for sure Paul was going to raise his wand and start firing spells at him but instead, he laughed. "I know who you are, Charlie Weasley. I ran into your dad at the ministry the day of my hearing. He was so proud of you and your heroic rescue mission of that filthy dragon. I wonder if he will be proud as he cowers over your lifeless body."

Fear surged through Charlie and his eyes grew wide with terror. But before anything further could happen, Professor Blackwell cut in.

"Enough! You dare to speak like that to underage wizards, you filthy scum? Here I was thinking you weren't cut out for the Dark Arts, Paul," taunted Professor Blackwell.

Paul turned his gaze over to their professor; his black eyes seeming to bore through their professor's form; Charlie felt Hermione shaking behind him.

"Why did you choose this path, Alex? What made you so sinister? Why did you choose the path of the dark arts," Professor Blackwell asked his brother.

Alex's gaze turned downward, looking at the ground to his left side. With any other man, Charlie would have assumed Alex was starting to feel guilty for studying the dark arts, however, since Alex had just threatened them with death mere moments before, he doubted Alex was feeling anything but hatred.

"Mum and dad; they are the ones who pushed me into the dark arts," Alex replied quietly.

"Mum and dad? They made you study the dark arts," Professor Blackwell asked, his voice uncertain.

"Mum and dad's lies to me and to you…that's what pushed me into darkness."

"What lies are you talking about?"

"So you don't know?" Alex laughed without humor. "Well my dear brother, let me enlighten you. You and I are not blood-brothers. You see, I was adopted."

Silence filled the tense air in the Time Room. Alex's eyes were focused directly on his brother, unblinking and unmoving.

"You were adopted?" Professor Blackwell's mouth was hanging open, horror filling his eyes.

"Yes, I was adopted. You see, I had already become a Death Eater. I was six months into studying the dark arts. I came home one night; it was thundering and lightning and the rain was coming down in buckets. I entered our house, soaking wet yet glad to be home. I found mum and dad sitting at the kitchen table, the lines around their eyes more pronounced than I had ever seen them.

"They had two mugs clasped in between each of their hands; not one word was uttered as I walked into the kitchen. I thought death had struck the family; I was worried. However, they both turned their heads to look at me and for the first time in my life, I looked directly into both of their eyes and saw shame cross over their features.

"I asked them what was wrong. Mum looked over to dad. He stood up from his chair and placed both hands on my shoulders and said, 'You were adopted.'"

Charlie was studying Alex's face as he told his story, entranced by what really pushed him into madness and to become a servant of You-Know-Who.

"I was stunned; I couldn't believe they would keep a secret like this from me for twenty-five years. I asked them why they did so and they replied by telling me I wasn't ready for the truth. You see, I'm from a family of Muggles. I am a Mudblood.

"I was so infuriated that I stormed up to my room and slammed my door shut, trying to absorb what I had just been told. I realized that twenty-five years of my life were a complete lie! I scoffed to myself, a mudblood, a servant of the Dark Lord? Surely he would kill me once he found out. I decided that I had to do something drastic in order to keep my favor within the Dark Lord's ranks.

"After mum and dad had gone up to bed, I snuck into their room and murdered them in their sleep. I saw their bodies silhouetted against the lightning that flashed through their bedroom window."

Sickness flooded through Charlie; how could someone do something so cruel and so full of malice and talk about it as if he was proud that he had murdered two people?

"You killed our parents," Professor Blackwell asked, his eyes filling with tears.

"Incorrect, brother. I murdered your parents," Alex replied, a nasty smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You must understand that becoming a servant of the Dark Lord is not easy and winning the favor of his Death Eater purebloods is even harder. Murdering in the dark is easy and simplistic."

"You're a coward. You claim murdering is easy and simplistic yet you didn't have the boldness to face my parents like a real man. I had always vouched for you, telling everyone that didn't murder my parents. How wrong I was," Professor Blackwell replied, his voice a deathly even.

Charlie looked over at Adam and Josh; they looked pale against the brightly-lit clocks on the opposite wall. Charlie thought it was only a matter of time before Professor Blackwell and Alex engaged in a duel in which he was sure with their mounting emotions, the entire room they were now standing in would be obliterated.

"Call me what you wish but I'm actually glad you came here tonight. For now, I get to finish off your blood-line. Afterwards, we will then take care of your students which you brought here tonight," Alex threatened, raising his wand.

"We won't go down without a fight, Alex. And I can assure you, my blood-line will not end tonight, especially at your cowardly hands."

Alex's face twisted in fury as he raised his wand and yelled, " _AVADA KEDAVRA_!" A jet of green light shot out of Alex's wand as Professor Blackwell dove out of the way, tackling Adam and Josh to the ground.

Charlie looked from Professor Blackwell to Alex whose face was reddening in anger at being called a coward.

Paul then turned his gaze back towards Charlie and Hermione; the two stared each other for a moment before he shot a jet of red light at them.

" _PROTEGO_ ," Charlie yelled. Charlie then grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her towards the first door he saw. Professor Blackwell was pulling up both Adam and Josh by the scruffs of their necks and pushed them in the opposite direction.

Charlie heard rather than saw his professor yell, " _BOMBARDA MAXIMA_!" As Charlie shoved Hermione through the door, he heard a massive explosion behind him.

Charlie ran with Hermione into a new room; Charlie looked around and saw rows and rows of shelves with ceilings as high as a cathedral in the room they were now running through. Charlie could barely make up small glass orbs that adorned each shelf in this large space.

Hermione then tugged Charlie suddenly so that they were now running in between the shelves of the room. Hermione stopped, placing her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Charlie looked around him to find blackness; the only light this room provided was the slightly-blue glassed balls that decorated each of the high shelves.

"Did Professor Blackwell follow you," Hermione asked, trying to locate their professor and friends in the blackness behind Charlie.

"No, he didn't. I saw him run in the opposite direction," Charlie said, looking directly into Hermione's eyes.

"Oh what are we going to do, Charlie," Hermione cried, her eyes wide with fear.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way out of here and get back to Hogwarts with the others," Charlie replied, trying to calm both him and Hermione down. "Right now, we need to find our way back to the spinning room. I have no idea where we are right now, though."

"I think this is the Hall of Prophecy," Hermione said, looking around. "This is the place where prophecies are made and are placed here. I read it in the book from the library," Hermione continued, seeing the blank expression on Charlie's face.

"Oh, um, right," Charlie stuttered. Suddenly, Charlie heard movement behind him. He turned and saw a jet of red light soar at both him and Hermione.

"DUCK!" Charlie pulled Hermione down to the ground as the jet of red light blasted several shelves. The glassed orbs burst apart with the force of the spell as Charlie and Hermione saw blue figures rise into the air, away from the newly-broken glassed orbs, their mouths moving with words Charlie couldn't hear.

" _PETRIFICUS TOTALUS_ ," Hermione yelled, her wand pointed at their advancing adversary. Instantly, the Death Eater's arms snapped to his side as he fell backward onto the floor.

Charlie helped Hermione up to her feet as they walked over the body of the still-masked Death Eater.

"Charlie, do you think there are more than three Death Eaters here in the Department of Mysteries," Hermione asked.

Charlie looked back down at the fallen Death Eater, Hermione unknowingly confirming his deepest fears. "Yes, Hermione, I think there are more Death Eaters here."

He took her hand in his again and set off, running through the row they were in and finding a lane that ran the length of the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy. They ran past shelf after shelf, Charlie looking down each one of them at nothing in particular. Charlie was trying to find the way back to the door so they could get out of this hall.

Charlie looked down another row they passed and saw to his horror, a black-cloaked figure running down the row from them, passing the shelves they were passing. Charlie formed a plan in his head and suddenly stopped Hermione.

Charlie couldn't hear any footsteps but he peeked around another shelf to see if he could see the cloaked Death Eater. He didn't see any movement and for a brief moment, he thought they had lost the Death Eater.

Not a second later, both Charlie and Hermione were blasted off of their feet, both of their bodies slamming into a wall. They groaned in pain and saw another masked Death Eater advancing toward them.

" _INCARCEROUS_ ," Charlie yelled and ropes flew out of the tip of Charlie's wand and they wound its way over the Death Eater's body, effectively tying him up.

Charlie turned and saw blood trickling down Hermione's cheek. She smiled softly at him and said, "Let's keep going, Charlie."

He nodded his head, surprised yet proud at the tenacity his girlfriend was showing in their time of desperation.

Charlie and Hermione continued to jog through the Hall of Prophecy; Charlie soon noticed the shelves they were passing all had numbers; he noted they had just passed row ninety-seven.

Charlie was huffing, trying to catch his breath and his hand had slipped out of Hermione's. He looked back and saw her point her wand at something behind him and yelled, " _STUPEFY_!"

The jet of red light flew out of the tip of Hermione's wand and soared over Charlie's shoulder. He turned as the spell flew past him and saw another Death Eater block it with a wave of his wand.

The Death Eater shot a jet of purple light over at them but Charlie yelled, " _PROTEGO_!"

Hermione pointed her wand again and yelled, " _LEVICORPUS_!" Instantly, the Death Eater was hoisted upside down, hanging in mid-air by his ankles.

"Good spell, Hermione," Charlie commented, smiling at the flailing Death Eater. The next moment however, Charlie's smile faded.

The Death Eater had made a strange motion with his wand and the following second, a great fire in the form of a large bear had burst forth, the fire-bear roaring and charging at Charlie and Hermione.

Charlie wondered as the bear charged them if any of them would make it out of the Ministry of Magic alive.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed Chapter 13 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" This was a challenging chapter to write but fun nonetheless. Chapter 14 is a work-in-progress and I hope to have it posted by the end of tonight; if not, it will be posted tomorrow afternoon. Don't forget to read, review, and share with those who might enjoy my story!


	14. Chapter 14: The Call of the Veil

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 14: The Call of the Veil

Charlie was transfixed on the great bear that was aflame, running full speed at the pair of them, its eyes orange balls of fire.

"RUN!" Hermione tugged on Charlie's hand with all of her might, willing him to run away from the danger. Charlie shook his head slightly and ran after Hermione, the pair of them taking off away from the approaching bear.

They heard another roar from behind them as they passed shelf after shelf, sweat pouring down their faces, as their black Hogwarts robes billowed behind them.

"Charlie watch out," Hermione yelled, pointing at the floor a few feet in front of where they were running.

Charlie saw the Death Eater Hermione had hit before, his body still lying on the floor, his arms tucked stiffly at his sides.

Charlie and Hermione ran past the fallen Death Eater as Charlie chanced a glance over his shoulder. The great bear of fire was still running after them, roaring along in its wake. On and on the pair sprinted in the Hall of Prophecy, until Charlie finally spotted a door.

"Hermione, look ahead! There's a door," Charlie yelled.

"But where does it lead," she asked, trepidation in her voice.

"There's only one way to find out," Charlie replied. As they drew near the door, Charlie raised his wand and yelled, " _BOMBARDA_!" The door blasted open and Charlie and Hermione ran over the threshold, slamming the door shut behind them.

The felt the bear slam into the door right after it shut; both Charlie and Hermione pushed up against the door, trying to barricade the beast out of the room.

"Wait, let me trying something, Charlie," Hermione said. Charlie backed away from the door as Hermione pointed her wand at it and yelled, " _COLLOPORTUS_! Okay, that should keep it out," Hermione explained, looking at Charlie.

"Right," he replied. The pair turned around and found themselves back in the time room. However, most of the clocks on the wall had been smashed as small, jagged pieces were strewn all over the black-tiled floor. To Charlie, it seemed as if a bomb had exploded the contents in the room.

Suddenly, the far door of the room ripped open and two masked Death Eaters fled inside, firing spells at both Charlie and Hermione.

The pair however fired spells of their own. Hermione shot a jet of orange light just as the Death Eater she was fighting fired a jet of purple light at her. The two curses collided in mid-air and ricocheted off of each other, bouncing back into two separate walls and creating small explosions.

Charlie fired a spell of his own at his attacker but it was blocked with a flick of his wand. The Death Eater yelled, " _CRUCIO_!" Charlie dove out of the way as Hermione shot a jet of blue light over at the Death Eater that just tried to torture Charlie.

The Death Eater was blasted off of his feet and he smashed backwards into the tank that hosted the yellow bird's birth and death. The tank exploded, glass shards and water pouring down onto the floor. The yellow bird that was in the waters of the tank dropped dead, its lifeless body lying where the tank just stood.

Charlie kicked open the door that led back into the circular spinning room as he tugged Hermione through the doorframe and slammed the door shut. Instantly, the room began to spin at a dizzying pace. Once the walls stopped spinning, a door opened and out came both Adam and Josh, out-of-breath, with scars on their faces and bruises on their arms.

"Charlie, Hermione! There you two are," Adam cried out. "Where have you guys been?"

"We ran into this, what was it, Hall of Prophecy? Then we ran back into the Time Room," Charlie replied. "What about you? Where's Professor Blackwell?"

"Well, Professor Blackwell shoved us back into this room but Alex and that guy Paul followed. They were firing curses at us as the room was spinning. When the walls stopped, Professor Blackwell told us to run for it so we darted through a random door," Josh explained.

"And what happened after that," Charlie asked.

"Well, it was odd. It seemed like we were just floating in space. We saw all of the planets and other stars but it was strange. A door opened at the far end of the room and two Death Eaters fled in and they also started floating. We couldn't fire spells or anything; we just floated until we reached the other end of the room," Josh continued.

"But, I will commend Josh for punching a Death Eater right in the nose! I think it broke from the way blood was pouring out of it," Adam said, smiling with pride. "But I have to warn you two: that bloke Paul is out for the two of you. We heard him telling Alex he was going to go off and find you two to kill you," Adam said, worry crossing over his expression.

"We have to find Professor Blackwell and get out of here," Charlie said at once, alarm surging through him. Then, another door burst open. The four students pointed their wands at this new intruder who turned out to be their professor.

"Professor," Hermione cried, running over to him. Their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor looked shaken, his right cheek lacerated and his cloak torn in places, but otherwise, he looked unscathed.

"Charlie! Hermione! Are you two hurt," he asked, looking each student over.

"We're fine. Let's get out of here," Charlie said as their professor nodded his head. However, just as Adam started to walk toward one of the many doors, the room started spinning. Charlie closed his eyes as the blue flames whipped around him in an intense blur, trying to keep himself steady.

After the room stopped, Adam again walked over to one of the doors but before he could reach it, the door was blasted open and five different Death Eaters piled inside, firing spells in every direction.

Instinct overtook Charlie and he pulled Hermione to the floor; screams and crashes surrounded the two of them as the body of a Death Eater crashed onto the floor next to them. Charlie peeked up his head and saw jets of red, green, purple, and blue light fly around the now spinning room, the spells ricocheting off of the walls.

Charlie saw Professor Blackwell dueling two Death Eaters at once, the three wands mere blurs. Charlie pointed his wand and yelled, " _STUPEFY_!" The Death Eater that was firing spells at Adam dropped to the floor with a thud.

Hermione shot a jet of yellow light at Josh's attacker and he was blasted through a door and out of sight.

"RUN! Get out of here," Professor Blackwell screamed and Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh took off through the open door Hermione blasted the Death Eater through. Once they all crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut, blocking entrance to Professor Roberts.

The four students were now standing in front of the tank filled with green liquid. The students inched closer to the tank and they each saw what looked like brains, swimming in the murky tank waters.

"What in the world," Josh asked, his eyes wide. "What is this place?"

"This is the room of thought. Here they study the brain," Hermione responded, her eyes fixed on the swimming brains in front of them.

"Come on," Adam said, leading the way around the edge of the colossal tank. Adam found another door at the end of the room and he and Josh filed through it. However, once Josh crossed over the threshold, the door slammed shut.

Charlie and Hermione instinctively stepped backward, away from the door. Out of the shadows, Paul stepped forward, his wand twirling in his hand, a vicious smile on his face.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here: two lost Gryffindors. Two lost Gryffindors that don't have a dragon on their side to help them," he snarled, brandishing his wand.

Before he could say another word, both Charlie and Hermione fired two jets of red light at him. Paul dove out of the way as Charlie and Hermione retreated backward.

He swiftly got to his feet and yelled, " _STUPEFY_!" The jet of red light flew directly over Charlie's head.

Hermione yelled, " _EXPELLIARMUS_ ," but Paul blocked the spell with a wave of his own wand.

" _CRUCIO_!" Now Hermione dove out of the way as the torture curse blasted into the wall. " _CONFRINGO_ ," Charlie yelled. Paul waved his wand again and the curse bounced back into the tank of brains.

As Paul raised his wand yet again, the glass of the tank cracked. The three duelers looked over as suddenly, the tank's glass walls imploded, sending out murky, green waters as well as brains, raining down on the room's occupants.

Charlie and Hermione were washed against one of the room's walls, the force of the water greater than they could withstand.

As the pair spluttered, trying to catch their breath, Charlie looked over and saw Paul wrestling with a brain that seemed to have started attacking him. However, as Charlie looked in front of him, he saw two brains flying at him and Hermione.

Charlie raised his wand and yelled, " _REDUCTO_!" One of the brains was blasted away. However, thick, tentacle-like arms unwound itself from the brain and latched harshly onto Hermione's arms. She screamed as Charlie began to physically attack the brain, trying to make it let go of Hermione.

"Wait, try and hold still, Hermione," Charlie yelled, raising his wand. " _REDUCTO_ ," he yelled. To his horror, as the brain was blasted away, its tentacle-like arms were still wrapped around Hermione as the brain dragged her backwards from Charlie's spell.

He saw her crash into a wall near Paul who was still struggling with another brain that was attacking him.

Charlie ran over to Hermione as she slowly sat up, moaning. "Hermione! Are you okay," Charlie asked suddenly, untangling the brain from Hermione.

"Yeah, but my back aches, Charlie," she replied.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione! I didn't mean for that to happen," Charlie said, wrapping his hands over her.

"It's okay; let's try and get out of his room," she said. Charlie helped her get to her feet as they turned towards the door Adam and Josh went through earlier.

Charlie looked over at the struggling Paul and yelled, " _STUPEFY_." A jet of red light hit Paul directly in the chest as he crumpled over onto the floor.

Charlie and Hermione charged forward through the door. Hermione shut the door behind her and said, " _COLLOPORTUS_ ," locking the door.

The couple now found themselves inside what looked like some sort of chamber. They were standing on the top-most benche of a large room which looked down upon a stone dais. An archway was erected on the stone dais, with a thin black veil blowing softly in a non-existent wind.

Adam and Josh stood in front of the archway, looking at it with stunned expressions. Charlie looked down at his two, unmoving best friends, as he and Hermione walked down towards them.

"Adam? Josh? Are the two of you alright," Charlie asked, coming up behind them. He walked in front of the pair and waved his hand in front of both of their faces. They blinked and continued to stare up at the archway.

Hermione gasped suddenly, saying, "Charlie, this is the Death Chamber! Here, they study-,"

"Death," Charlie finished, looking up at the archway. There was something very ominous about the structure. Charlie felt uneasy as the veil swung back and forth; in places, the black veil was ripped with jagged cuts.

"Come on, something about this doesn't feel right," Charlie said, looking at Hermione. She looked back at him and nodded.

"It feels menacing. Almost as if this veil knows we don't belong here," Hermione said. Charlie continued to stare at the veil, shivering uncontrollably as the four of them were standing alone in this massive room.

"I think it's inviting us," Adam said suddenly.

Charlie looked over at him worriedly, as he replied, "What are you on about, Adam?"

"The curtain…it wants us to come forward," Josh said, taking a step forward. "I can hear it calling."

"Adam, Josh, listen to me! We need to find Professor Blackwell and get out of here!" Charlie's anxiety grew at Adam and Josh's sudden comments.

Suddenly, a door at the top of the chamber burst open and Alex, along with three other Death Eaters, were framed in the doorway. He smiled evilly down at them as they ran down the benches, raining down curses at the students.

Charlie and Hermione shoved Adam and Josh roughly to the floor, firing spells of their own.

As a Death Eater ran at Hermione, she yelled, " _PERTIFICUS TOTALUS_!" The man's arms snapped together as he fell backwards onto the stone.

Adam and Josh seemed to be pulled out of their revere as they clamored to their feet, shooting spells at the advancing servants of the Dark Lord.

" _LOCOMOTOR MORTIS_ ," Josh cried, and the Death Eater's legs locked together as Josh pointed his wand again and said, " _STUPEFY_." With a flash of red light, the Death Eater moved no more.

Charlie looked around and saw both Adam and Hermione battling Alex. Charlie started making his way over to them when he was shoved violently out of the way. Charlie looked up and saw Paul's face hovering over his own, malevolence etched across his harsh features.

"You are not getting away this time, Weasley. Who do you think will cry more over your pathetic, dead body: your worthless father or your Mudblood girlfriend," Paul taunted.

Rage swept through Charlie and he brought up his knee and slammed it into Paul's gut. He howled in pain and slid off of Charlie and onto the stone pavement. Charlie staggered to his feet, pointed his wand at Paul, and said, " _STUPEFY_." With another flash of red light, Paul's form stilled.

As Charlie tried to locate Hermione, another person sprinted past him. He looked at the new assailant and saw Professor Blackwell rush over to Alex, who was distracted still dueling Adam and Hermione, and blast him backwards.

"All of you, run up the steps now! We need to get out of here," their professor yelled. Adam, Josh, and Professor Blackwell darted up the stone benches as Hermione came up behind them, grabbed Charlie's hand and the pair followed their comrades.

They all crossed over the threshold and were back into the circular room. The door slammed shut and the room began to spin. Once it stopped, Professor Blackwell said, "I want all of you to try separate doors and find the way out!"

They all rushed off, opening their doors. "Here, it's here," Hermione's voice rang out. She rushed out of it followed by Adam, Josh, Charlie, and Professor Blackwell. The five ran along the smooth, black-tiled tunnel and into the golden lifts.

The grilles slammed shut as Professor Blackwell jabbed the top button and the lift ascended, away from the Department of Mysteries.

The golden grilled clanged open as the five filed outside and away from the lifts. As they ran into the wide atrium, Charlie felt his legs give away from under him and he fell, and slid across the smooth-black tile of the atrium.

The four others stopped as Charlie looked back and saw the body of what he supposed was a ministry night guard.

Professor Blackwell walked over to the dead man and looked over him as Charlie rushed to his feet.

"Alex must've killed him," Professor Blackwell said, shaking his head in disgust. He stood up and addressed the four students. "Now, listen to me closely. We're not flying back to Hogwarts. We've got to use the floo network. I want all of you to go to the fireplaces over there, step inside, and yell, 'Professor McGonagall's Office, Hogwarts'."

"But what about our brooms," Adam said. "We can't just leave them here!"

"Mr. Bones, don't worry about your brooms in a time like this! They will be retrieved later! I'm positive more Death Eaters will come after us if we don't get out of here now!"

They rushed forward but to their horror, they heard the grills of the lifts clang open and a voice called out, "BLACKWELL!"

"Hurry, all of you, get out of here now," their professor said, rushing away from them to fend of who Charlie presumed to be Alex.

As the four students rushed past the golden fountain, an earth-shattering detonation blasted them off of their feet.

Charlie turned over and saw the golden statue of the wizard was aflame. In all of its might and power, the flames licked the statue as Adam and Josh got to their feet and rushed off to the fireplaces. Charlie saw the two of them disappear in bright green flames.

Charlie located Hermione but instead of running towards the fireplaces and to their escape, she was running back towards Professor Blackwell.

"HERMIONE! What are you doing?!"

"Charlie, there's more Death Eaters! We need to help!" With that, Hermione rushed back over to the fountain, stumbling into the waters and hiding behind the house-elf. Charlie quickly followed and the pair stood behind the statue, firing spells as five Death Eaters poured out of the golden lifts.

The Death Eaters started firing spells at Charlie and Hermione as Professor Blackwell and Alex were dueling so viciously that red and green sparks were being emitted out of the tips of both of their wands.

A curse sent by another Death Eater blasted one of the house-elf's ears directly off. The golden ear clanged loudly about on the floor of the atrium.

Hermione ducked around the statue again and yelled, " _STUPEFY_!" The jet of red light that issued from her wand hit a Death Eater squarely in the face.

Charlie shouted, " _LEVICORPUS_ ," at an advancing Death Eater but the Death Eater waved his wand suddenly and the force of his non-verbal curse repelled Charlie backwards into the fountain waters.

As Charlie resurfaced, shaking the water out of his eyes, a mighty _GONG_ was heard and was felt throughout the entire atrium. The golden statues started vibrating at the stunning force; Charlie looked over to see a large shield in front of Professor Blackwell.

A golden jet of light had just bounced off of the shield and it was headed towards the flaming wizard's statute.

"Hermione, we need to go now," Charlie said, worry filling the bones of his body. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the fountain as the jet of gold light collided with the burning wizard.

Another massive force was felt as the twenty-foot statue burst apart. Charlie and Hermione ran as fast as they could towards the first fireplace they could see. Charlie looked back over his shoulder as the saw the flaming tower burst into a thousand pieces.

Flaming portions of the statue rained down over Charlie and Hermione as they tried to avoid being hit as more and more fragments fell down upon them.

Piece after flaming piece pierced the floor of the atrium, each making scratching sounds as they pounded into the black-tiled floor.

Charlie shoved Hermione over to the first fireplace in his line of sight. She quickly got in and yelled, "Professor McGonagall's Office, Hogwarts!" She disappeared in bright green flames.

Charlie got in after her and he also yelled, "Professor McGonagall's Office, Hogwarts!" However, just as he felt the bright green flames dancing around him, a hand grabbed his ankle roughly.

Charlie and the Death Eater disappeared from the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. The next second, he heard a scream, saw the stunned face of Professor McGonagall, a flash of green light, and darkness.

WHEW! What a chapter to "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I sincerely hoped you all enjoyed it! Chapter 15 is a work-in-progress and it will be posted late Sunday night. Don't forget to read, review, and share with those who might like my story!


	15. Chapter 15: Tyranny Rising

Chapter 15: Tyranny Rising

Charlie's eyelids fluttered open. He saw Professor McGonagall's worried face hovering over his own.

"Are you all right, Mr. Weasley," she asked. Charlie nodded his head, wincing in pain as he made to sit up. He was lying on the stone floor of Professor McGonagall's office. He looked around and saw Hermione, Adam, and Josh looking over at him.

Adam and Josh looked shaken but otherwise alright while Hermione had a bruises forming around her arms and blood was trickling down her cheek.

"Where's Professor Blackwell," Charlie asked at once, now noticing their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was not with them.

"I don't know, Mr. Weasley. All I've been instructed is to take the four of you immediately up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Are you hurt?" Professor McGonagall looked him over as Charlie shook his head from side to side.

"I feel fine," he mumbled.

"Okay, I need to you get up and I want the four of you to follow me," their Transfiguration professor said, her voice stern.

Adam walked over and helped Charlie to his feet while Professor McGonagall opened her office door and the five filed out. Their footsteps echoed across the dark corridors of the castle, silence ensuing between the students.

Charlie was shaken; never before had he participated in a fight of the magnitude as he and his friends had just had within the Ministry of Magic. Charlie was also worried about Professor Blackwell. The last image he had of his professor was a large shield that was erected in front of him as a powerful spell had been deflected from it.

Pain surged with Charlie's every footstep, though he did not know where the pain was coming from.

Soon, they all stood behind Professor McGonagall who was standing in front of a large gargoyle: the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Sherbet lemon," she said suddenly. The gargoyle jumped to the side as a circular staircase emerged, rising up and out of sight. "Follow me," she said again.

The five walked up the winding staircase before they found themselves standing in front of a wooden door. Professor McGonagall rapped sharply and a quiet voice said, "Enter."

Their professor opened the door and the four Gryffindors entered the office of Professor Dumbledore. Charlie saw the Hogwarts headmaster sitting behind his desk in his midnight blue robes, a calm expression over his face.

"Ah, yes, welcome Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Bones, and Mr. Creevey," Dumbledore said, standing to his feet. "Thank you, Minevra," he said, nodding to her. Charlie saw her nod back and exit his office.

Dumbledore waved his wand and four chairs appeared instantly. "Please have a seat for we have matters to discuss about your recent adventure."

Charlie and Hermione took the middle two seats as Adam and Josh flanked them on either side.

"Well students, I know how difficult this night as been for all of you. But I need to know exactly why you ventured to the Ministry of Magic and what you did in the Department of Mysteries." The four exchanged stunned expressions: how was it that their headmaster knew about their escapade when he was supposedly out of the country?

"Oh, Professor Blackwell sent me a patronus to inform me briefly of where the four of you were," Dumbledore said, answering their unasked question.

"Well sir," Hermione began, "Professor Blackwell told us that his brother was a former Death Eater and before term began, he uncovered a plot of his brother's to break into the Department of Mysteries. At the time, he didn't know why he wanted to break into the department.

"Charlie and I did some research and we came up with the conclusion that Professor Blackwell's brother, Alex, wanted to break into the Time Room of the Department of Mysteries and steal a time-turner. We thought the reason he tried to do so was to go back in time to prevent the downfall of You-Know-Who."

Professor Dumbledore's fingers were clasped together, resting under his chin. His bright blue eyes seemed to x-ray Hermione as she spoke.

"We came back on the Hogwarts Express earlier today when Professor Blackwell found us at Hogesmade Station and he told us that his brother was going to try to break into the Department of Mysteries tonight. Then, Adam and Josh overheard our conversation and we informed them of what was going on and they decided to come along with us," Charlie intervened.

"We flew on broomsticks to the Ministry of Magic and entered through the visitor's entrance. He didn't see any guard as we rushed down to the Department of Mysteries. Once we entered through the entrance door, we saw many other doors leading away from the main room. Suddenly, the walls started spinning. Eventually, we found the Time Room and Alex and two other Death Eaters were waiting for us already.

"A fight broke out and all of us were separated. Hermione and I first ventured into the Hall of Prophecy, back into the Time Room, then into the spinning room, next through a door that held a massive tank filled with brains, the Death Chamber, back into the spinning room, and we escaped in the atrium by using floo powder to go to Professor McGonagall's office," Charlie finished, sighing in exasperation.

They were all silent as Professor Dumbledore pondered over both Charlie and Hermione's story. "That is quite a tale."

"Sir, is Professor Blackwell alright? We didn't see him arrive back here," Adam asked, looking over at the headmaster.

"Currently, Professor Blackwell is being held in Azkaban Prison for trespass into the ministry along with treason for lying to ministry officials as to why he tried to break into the Department of Mysteries."

Hermione gasped aloud, as Charlie's shoulders sagged in defeat. After everything they had been through, escaping with their lives, their professor was captured.

"Didn't the ministry officials see the Death Eaters there," Josh asked, anger rising in his voice. "Professor Blackwell wasn't the only one there!"

"Calm down, Mr. Creevey. Let me explain. While he was in the Department of Mysteries, I received a patronus from Professor Blackwell, telling me the four of you traveled with him to the Ministry of Magic. He told me you were all ambushed by Death Eaters. I apparated at once to London where Professor Blackwell was in the process of being questioned by ministry officials.

"The Death Eaters fled the scene before they were seen. Professor Blackwell chose to stay behind in order to take blame for what had transpired."

"Why would he do that," Josh asked, standing to his feet. "We were all there! Not just us but the Death Eaters as well! Why would he assume the blame?"

"Mr. Creevey, I must ask you to remain calm and take a seat; I'm in the process of explaining to you why Professor Blackwell did what he did."

Josh's face turned a nasty shade of red as he sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

"Now, Professor Blackwell took the blame for the events of tonight because the Wizarding community does not want to believe Death Eaters are congregating again. After the fall of Voldemort, many people were elated that the darkness that had plagued the Wizarding community was finally over," Professor Dumbledore said, the four students gasping at his use of saying the name of "Voldemort."

"We are truly living in a time of peace and calm. The mere fact that Death Eaters are still gathering proves that Voldemort's return is imminent yet the time he's to return remains unknown. The Wizarding community would fall into pandemonium if they heard Death Eaters were at large once again.

"This past summer, the Death Eaters that attacked Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were caught; though their attack caused a wave of such hatred against the dark arts and the Death Eaters as I had never before seen. If people heard Death Eaters were rallying again, and they were willing to attack students such as yourselves, chaos would consume the Ministry of Magic."

"So in reality, the ministry is trying to keep order," Adam asked. Professor Dumbledore looked over at him and nodded his head.

"Yes, Mr. Bones, the ministry accepted Professor Blackwell's confession without question, even though they know dark forces had raided the ministry and the Department of Mysteries."

"What are to do then, professor," Hermione asked.

"I need you all to act as if nothing happened. Tomorrow, the Daily Prophet will report a break-in at the Ministry of Magic and name Professor Blackwell as the culprit. You four will not be mentioned nor will any Death Eaters."

"You want us to act like nothing happened? But…why," Adam asked.

"Because Mr. Bones, even if you four along with Professor Blackwell told the Wizarding community that Death Eaters had infiltrated the ministry, they wouldn't believe you. But trust me, I am working to free Professor Blackwell from Azkaban Prison, a place where he does not belong."

"But how do we forget something like that? We were pursued through much of the Department of Mysteries, dodging killing curses and dark hexes, and you want us to act like nothing happened," Adam asked.

"Yes, I do. The true test of heroism is to stand tall in the face of opposition. Let me warn you that dark and difficult times are coming. The truth will eventually come to light but until that time comes, we must all undergo political concealment of the real truth. I trust you all to help one another through what you have faced tonight."

"I just can't believe Professor Blackwell is gone. I mean, he really can never be our professor again while the truth is still uncovered," Hermione said.

"What are you on about, Hermione," Josh asked, looking over at her.

"Well, parents wouldn't want their children being taught by someone who broke into both the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Mysteries. Think about what would happen if Professor Blackwell just walked right into Hogwarts and started teaching as if nothing had happened."

"You are quite correct, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore said.

"But, who will be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Charlie asked, speaking for the second time since entering Professor Dumbledore's office.

"I have some replacements in mind, Mr. Weasley. Do not worry. Now before you go, I want to stress to all of you the importance of keeping quiet about what you went through tonight. I know it will be hard after being attacked by Death Eaters but no harm can come to you from outside dark forces while you are within these castle walls."

"But professor, there's something I don't understand," Hermione said.

"And what would that be, Miss Granger?"

"Well, do you think we all have a duty to let the Wizarding community know that Death Eaters are regrouping again? I know it would cause much distress and panic, but what if we were to raise the alarm to try and stop Death Eaters from rising with power?"

"Because Miss Granger, Alex successfully stole a time-turner from the Department of Mysteries."

Charlie's mouth fell open. After everything they had all been through, their plan had failed.

"He stole it before you entered the Time Room. We are not going to raise the alarm to warn the Wizarding community because I have a plan." Professor Dumbledore rummaged through his desk for a quick moment before pulling out a gold necklace.

Charlie looked over to see what their headmaster was showing them. "I have a time-turner of my own and I plan to go back in time to fend Alex off. And I want you all to join me."

Well here is Chapter 15 of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I know this is a shorter chapter than my previous ones but I needed a "set-up" chapter of what is to follow. Since the week is about to start, Chapter 16 will be posted late Thursday night. Don't forget to let me know what you think of the direction the story is going. I welcome all comments, either positive or negative. Don't forget to read, review, and share with those who might like my story.


	16. Chapter 16: October 31, 1981

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 16: October 31st, 1981

Charlie's nerves were taking a hold of him; he couldn't stop shaking uncontrollably. Professor Dumbledore had already wrapped his traveling cloak around himself as Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh had all stood and watched their headmaster, anticipation cackling in the air.

Charlie had remembered how moments ago, after Professor Dumbledore had informed his students that Alex had indeed stole a time-turner from the Department of Mysteries, the time-turners the Unspeakables were studying had the power to go back further in time than the usual five hours.

Professor Dumbledore had told them that traveling back in time more than five hours using the time-turner could do serious harm to those traveling farther back in time.

"Now remember children, we must not be seen. Our mission is to go back in time and stop Alex and the Death Eaters from whatever he plans on doing to stop the downfall of Voldemort."

"Professor, how do we know when Alex is going to go back in time," Hermione asked. Charlie looked from Hermione to Professor Dumbledore, thinking why no one had asked that question before.

"Because Miss Granger, Professor Blackwell placed a tracking charm on Alex in their fight within the Ministry of Magic; unbeknownst to Alex, of course," Dumbledore said, his bright blue eyes twinkling merrily. "I also advise you to keep your wands at the ready. I give you all permission to protect yourselves and use excessive force if you are attacked."

Charlie's heart started to beat faster and faster while his palms started gathering sweat; he tried to rub them on his robes without anyone noticing.

"We will be traveling to the Wizarding village of Godric's Hollow, back to the year 1981, October 31st," Dumbledore said. "Now gather around, quickly."

The four students huddled around their headmaster as he pulled out a long golden chain with an encased miniscule hourglass attached at one end of it. He placed the chain around the five of them and he waited.

Charlie looked over at his friends faces: Hermione had a look of fright upon her face, Adam had a look of determination, while Josh was ghostly white. Suddenly, Professor Dumbledore's eyes snapped open and he turned the time-turner once and murmured a spell quietly.

Suddenly, Charlie felt a great tug around his navel as blackness engulfed the five of them. Charlie could see nothing but the four other people he was traveling back in time with as a rush of wind overtook them.

Then, the air was still. Charlie looked around and found that he had transported out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and right next to what looked like a church steeple. He felt a slight sting of the fall, chilly air as Professor Dumbledore took the chain from over the necks of the four students and stuffed it in his traveling cloak.

"This way, and try to be as quiet as possible; Alex is already here," Professor Dumbledore told them. Alex and Josh followed right away as Hermione and Charlie took the rear.

Charlie looked to his left and saw what looked like a gravesite; to his right, brightly colored lights were reflecting out of the church's stained-glass windows. Charlie looked through one of the windows and he could have sworn he saw movement within the small cathedral.

Charlie followed Hermione as she followed Josh out from between the church and gravesite and out onto a wider road. The lane was empty; the streetlights cast light onto five moving shadows. To Charlie, the entire scene of Godric's Hollow struck him as eerie.

A small wind rustled fall leaves across the cobble-stoned streets as laughter was heard off in the distance. A couple was walking hand in hand down the street and turned down another lane, away from the group of five.

They passed a slew of other two-story buildings, each one dark and foreboding. Suddenly, Charlie ran directly into Hermione, knocking her over. Before she could fall onto the ground, Charlie caught her in his arms and pulled her gently back on her feet.

They smiled at one another; a brief, romantic reprieve on this sinister-feeling street where they all knew You-Know-Who would soon be lurking nearby along with Death Eaters.

The pair looked ahead and saw Professor Dumbledore framed in darkness; his pointed hat was slightly askew on top of his head, his wand held at the ready, his purple robes blowing slightly with the fall wind.

Silence pressed in around them as the four students huddled behind their headmaster. Even though Charlie couldn't see his face, he was sure Professor Dumbledore was calculating the scene in front of him, prepared for the imminent threat of Death Eaters.

Suddenly, a bright blue light was seen out of the corner of Charlie's eye. "Watch out," he said, pulling Hermione to the ground. However, immediately after his warning, Professor Dumbledore whipped around and hurtled a jet of orange and red light at the point of origin.

Charlie heard a cry of pain and saw a black cloak flutter away. "Quick thinking, Mr. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore said, looking at Charlie. Charlie's face and neck turned a bright red at being congratulated by Professor Dumbledore.

"I think it would be prudent that we make haste; Voldemort will be coming here soon and it is imperative that we stop his Death Eaters," Professor Dumbledore said quietly, his bright blue eyes peeling over the area around them.

"Sir, we could split up. We could station ourselves around the village; after all, it's not very big. That way, we could divide and conquer," Adam suggested. Professor Dumbledore looked at him directly which made Adam peel away.

"I think that could work. You four have obviously proven yourselves worthy of effective defenses. Okay, I want both Mr. Bones and Mr. Creevey to hide in between those two buildings there," Dumbledore started, pointing at two buildings down the street. "I want Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger to hide over here," Dumbledore indicated, pointing at the two closest buildings to where they were standing.

"Also, always keep your eyes open. Evil fights well in the dark. And, remember, do not be seen by anybody of this village."

With that, the group scattered, Charlie and Hermione running to where Professor Dumbledore had stationed them. Charlie briefly looked back and saw Adam and Josh take off in the opposite direction down the street while Professor Dumbledore seemed to have disappeared.

Charlie and Hermione slid in an alley between two two-story brick buildings, hiding in the shadows. The narrow alley formed a path that led onto another street. Charlie kept watch of one side of the alley while Hermione guarded the other.

Charlie heard a sudden movement behind him. He turned around and saw Hermione's back to him. The alley was so dark that Charlie couldn't see the ground.

" _LUMOS_ ," Charlie muttered, his wand tip igniting instantly. He lowered his wand and saw a stray cat, its big round eyes looking up at the bright blue light. Charlie let out a shaky laugh as Hermione turned to investigate.

"Only a cat," Charlie said, looking down at the animal. He shook his head, slightly embarrassed he was so scared of a small creature

"Charlie watch out," Hermione said instantly, flinging a jet of red light over Charlie's shoulder. Charlie fell to the ground as he heard the man behind him mutter a curse. He turned on his back and saw a Death Eater flinging three different curses at Hermione.

" _PROTEGO_ ," she shouted. The three curses rebounded into the brick walls surrounding them, blasting pieces rock into the air.

Charlie got to his feet and said, " _INCAREROUS_!" Thick ropes flew out of Charlie's wand and wrapped themselves around the masked Death Eater.

As Charlie and Hermione looked down on their attacker, a massive blast sent the couple flying into the air. Charlie landed hard out onto the wide lane, the wind knocked out of him. His breathing ragged, Charlie groaned as he slowly sat up, locating Hermione rubbing her head.

Charlie then noticed how dark the street was. The lamps had been extinguished as blackness covered the street.

Out of the alley, Paul walked out, a twisted smile set upon his face, his black robes draped over his body.

"Fancy seeing the two of you here, my Gryffindor's," he sneered. "I wonder what happens to someone who dies while they are traveling in the past," he said, twirling his wand over and over in his hands.

"Don't bother trying to get help from your comrades. Your two buddies are battling fully-capable Death Eaters while Dumbledore went on some wild goose chase. For now, it's just you two and me. And believe me, I plan on using my time with the two of you very wisely."

Suddenly, Paul directed his wand at Charlie and yelled, " _CRUCIO_!" Charlie felt as if a thousand knives had been digging into him over and over, ripping apart his flesh. He screamed out in agony, twisting and writhing on the cold, hard ground.

Then, the pain stopped. Charlie slowly opened his eyes and saw Paul knocked backward into the alley. Hermione's face appeared in Charlie's view, concern etched into her features.

"Charlie, are you alright," she asked, kneeling down next to him. Charlie could only nod his head, the pain still searing through his body.

Hermione got up and turned around just as a jet of blue light flew at her. She dived out of the way, the curse knocking over the extinguished street light. The pole crashed onto the lane as Hermione sent a jet of purple light at Paul.

Charlie felt anger surging through him. He got to his feet and flung a jet of orange light at Paul. He deflected it easily and sent two jets of light at the pair of them. They blocked it though Charlie could feel the power of both of his spells.

Then, Charlie and Hermione stared to fiercely duel against Paul. Never having properly dueled before, Charlie threw all sorts of jinxes and curses he could think of at the Death Eater. Brightly-colored lights flew out of the tips of their three wands, some being flung away into the darkness.

The longer the three dueled, the more intense it got. Paul's curses he flung at Charlie kept forcing him backwards as its power was great.

Then, Charlie briefly caught Hermione's eye; the pair nodded to each other simultaneously. The couple then blasted two curses each out of their wands and over at Paul. The force of their four, combined spells knocked him off of his feet.

The pair than ran down the lane, away from Paul who was struggling to get back up on his feet. Charlie and Hermione saw another duel taking place in front of them and saw Adam firing spells at an advancing Death Eater.

Charlie shot a jet of white light over at him and he crumpled down on the ground. Adam looked around and saw Charlie and Hermione running over.

"Charlie, Hermione! Josh has been hurt. He's been hurt bad," Adam said quickly, his breathing uneven.

"Where is he," Charlie asked, worry seeping into his head. Adam led the way over to a nearby tree where Josh was propped up against. Charlie looked down at one of his best friends and saw a nasty gash had been cut open across the side of his neck. His robes were soaked in his own blood.

Before they could do anything, the tree was suddenly engulfed in flames. Adam and Charlie quickly pulled the unconscious body of Josh from the fire. Charlie turned and saw Paul standing mere feet away from them, a deranged look on his face.

"You two have evaded me one time too many. But not tonight," he said, walking over to them. Hermione shot a jet of red light over at him but he deflected it easily.

"Adam, take Josh out of here and go find Professor Dumbledore," Charlie directed, not taking his eyes off of Paul.

"But Charlie-,"

"GO!" Charlie heard Adam haul Josh over his shoulder and stagger down the street with him. Charlie felt the flames licking the tree, burning its fall leaves.

"Are you ready to begin," Paul asked, sneering. "We are going to-,"

Before he could finish, both Charlie and Hermione started flinging curses at him. His sneer turned to rage but he fought back, their brightly-colored curses and spells colliding together in mid-air.

A jet of orange light ricocheted away from the intense duel and blasted a nearby bench into pieces. Charlie could see Paul's face morph into wrath as he found he could not overpower Charlie and Hermione.

Charlie then saw something that truly shook him: he saw excitement flash briefly over Paul's face. He then wondered if Paul was truly insane. Does he take pleasure in inflicting pain on his adversaries? After all, Death Eaters enjoyed the pureness of the dark arts yet talking about murdering children…uneasiness swept through Charlie.

As jets of light flew in-between the two Hogwarts students and the Death Eater, Charlie wondered how this fight would end. Charlie tired to catch Hermione's eye so they could blast Paul away as they did earlier, but Hermione was too focused to notice Charlie.

Paul flung a jet of yellow light at Hermione; she cried out in pain as the curse connected with her wrist; she dropped to the ground, cradling her wrist.

Charlie's eyes dropped down to Hermione who had tears pouring down her face. "Looks like it's just you and me-," but Paul never got the chance to finish his sentence.

For at that moment, Professor Dumbledore had strode towards their place of dueling and shot out a jet of a brilliant light over at Paul who now seemed to be wrapped in an invisible bind. He then rushed over to Hermione and knelt next to her.

Charlie looked over at them as Dumbledore waved his wand over her wrist. After a brilliant flash, Hermione's wrist seemed to be mended. Dumbledore stood back up and extinguished the fire that had engulfed the tree.

"Quickly, now, we must be out of here," he said, taking out his time-turner. Charlie turned and saw Josh, leaning against Adam, his arm draped around the other's shoulder; he was alive but looked very weak.

"I want you all to go directly to the hospital wing. I will send a patronus to Madam Pomfrey explaining the situation," Professor Dumbledore said.

"But what about the Death Eaters," Charlie asked.

"I will come back and get them; it's you that top my priorities," he replied, winking at Charlie. They gathered under the time-turner's chain, Charlie wrapped his arms fully around Hermione and Josh.

Suddenly, he felt a tug at his navel. Before darkness could overtake him, Charlie briefly saw an explosion. It seemed as if someone had blasted the roof of a nearby, two-story home. The roof had partially collapsed as Charlie's eyes then fell upon what looked like a ghost, fleeing into the fall air.

There was no mistaking it: he had just witnessed the flight of Voldemort at the hands of baby, Harry Potter.

I hoped you all enjoyed the latest installment of "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I must inform you that this story is finding its end. I believe there will only be two, possible three, more chapters left! I want to thank everyone who has reviewed thus far! Chapter 17 is a work-in-progress and will be posted tomorrow night. Don't forget to read and review and share with those that might like my story!


	17. Chapter 17: Dreamland

And Gryffindor Rebels

Chapter 17: Dreamland

Charlie was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, as the fire in the grate slowly dulled. After they had ventured back from Godric's Hollow, Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh had ventured to the hospital wing as Professor Dumbledore had instructed them.

Madam Pomfrey had decided to keep Josh overnight in the ward as Adam, Charlie, and Hermione headed back up to Gryffindor Tower. Adam had bid the couple goodnight and he trudged up the steps to his dormitory, his footsteps tired with wariness.

Hermione was curled around Charlie's right arm, her breaths deep and even. Although Charlie had gone through a lot in the past two days, he couldn't find sleep. Not that he wasn't tired, Charlie didn't want to close his eyes and remember the fights that had taken place.

Was it possible or what is even normal for sixteen-year-olds to go through what he, Hermione, Adam, and Josh had gone through? The entire situation was befuddled in an entirely sinister ordeal.

"Are you alright, Charlie?" Hermione asked suddenly.

Charlie, awoke from his thoughts, and replied, "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem…I don't know, quiet, tonight," she responded.

"Well, we have been through a lot." Hermione sighed against him and he felt her nod her head.

"I know. But everything will be okay…won't it?"

Now Charlie sighed, not knowing the true answer to that question. "Of course it will," he said, not having the heart to tell her the future was very uncertain.

"I just hope Professor Dumbledore can get Professor Blackwell from Azkaban. I just can't imagine what awfulness he might be going through right now while we're here within the safety of Hogwarts," Hermione said, her voice a quiet whisper.

"Hermione, don't worry about him. If there's one man that could do almost anything, it's Professor Dumbledore. I'm positive he'll be able to have Professor Blackwell freed."

Charlie wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and rubbed it gently. She laid her head in the crook of his neck. He smiled; after all of the clashes he had been through the past couple of days, he felt the most content at the present time.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Charlie's head. He removed his arm from Hermione's shoulder and stood up. Her warm, brown eyes followed his stocky frame as he held out a hand for her to take.

"What are you doing," she asked, looking at Charlie's outstretched hand. Charlie gave her a lopsided smile, his dimples forming small circles into his cheeks.

"Follow me," he replied.

"Are you going to answer my question," Hermione retorted, her arms folded over her chest, an eyebrow quirked upward.

"It'll be a surprise," Charlie replied. Hermione gave him a small smile and placed her hand in his outstretched one. He softly pulled her up off the couch and the two looked into each other's eyes in front of the Gryffindor fire. Charlie drew Hermione's hand up toward his mouth and planted a soft kiss on top of her hand.

She giggled; the sound of her laughter made Charlie's heart melt. He smiled in return and led her out from behind the hidden portrait and into the corridors of Hogwarts.

"Charlie, it's late! We'll be given lines if we're caught out of bed at this hour," Hermione scolded in a whisper.

"Hermione, yesterday, you were fighting Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries and earlier today, you were again fighting Death Eaters in Godric's Hollow. And now, after everything that we've been through, you're worried about being caught out of bed after hours," Charlie asked, exasperated at the very thought.

"Oh, all right," Hermione relented as Charlie tugged her hand so they were walking side-by-side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her look over at him and smile.

On and on they walked along the empty halls of Hogwarts, fire in small pedestals adorned against the walls lighting their path.

As they walked, Charlie noticed how wide the walls of the castle actually were. Walking to class, it was hard to notice the width of the halls with hundreds of other students pressing all around you.

But as Charlie looked up the corridor, he was reminded of walking in an opera house he had once seen in a Muggle newspaper. Smiling at the thought, he and Hermione descended a flight of stairs, their Hogwarts robes flowing about their feet.

They walked along another corridor, passing a painting of masked wizards waltzing with witches dressed in exquisite robes, to a tune deaf to Charlie and Hermione's ears. On and on they walked until Charlie found what he was looking for.

"Really, Charlie, again," Hermione asked. Charlie looked over at her, feigning a wounded expression.

"That hurts, Hermione," Charlie said, clutching his heart. "Here I am, thinking of how to cheer you up yet you throw it right back in my face."

Hermione shook her head while rolling her eyes as Charlie started laughing. Standing before the pair was a painting of a bowl of fruit. Having been here two times their previous year, Charlie reached up and tickled the pear.

The painting swung forward, revealing the Hogwarts kitchen, a wide, expansive area, where house-elves worked, preparing all of the meals for the Hogwarts faculty and its students.

As Charlie and Hermione walked over the threshold into the kitchens, they were swarmed with house-elves. At least a hundred of the magical creatures crowded around them, their wide, tennis-ball shaped eyes fixated upon the new arrivals while their wide, floppy ears bouncing about on top of their heads.

"I think they're happy to see us," Charlie called out over at Hermione. It seemed as if Charlie and Hermione were part of wizard royalty the way they were being treated by these house-elves.

Once the clamor had started to die down, the house-elf, Fidus, approached the pair. "Hey, Fidus, how nice it is to see you again," Charlie said, looking down at the house-elf dressed in a tea towel.

At once, Fidus's eyes swam in tears as he puffed out his chest proudly and replied, "You are too kind, master! What can Mister Fidus get you and your girlfriend today?"

Charlie looked over at Hermione, as the pair thought the same exact thing: how fast did news travel around Hogwarts castle?

"Let's go for two hot cocoas, for old time's sake," Charlie replied, holding two fingers up in the air.

At once, Fidus scurried away, bowling over four different house-elves in the process. As the house-elves picked themselves off of the floor, muttering about Fidus's incompetence of his surroundings, Charlie and Hermione plucked down on two nearby stools, situated across from one another at a nearby table.

"So Mr. Weasley, why did you bring me down here tonight," Hermione asked, her eyes locking onto Charlie's.

"Well Miss Granger, I felt like I needed a bit of fresh air," Charlie replied.

"Oh yes, I understand that traveling to the Ministry of Magic in London and venturing off to Godric's Hollow that fresh air is hard to come by," she retorted as Charlie laughed loudly.

"Okay, maybe not the best excuse, especially seeing as we have both reached celebrity status here in the Hogwarts kitchen," Charlie said, looking around at least a dozen house-elves that had situated themselves around the table the couple were sitting at, their wide eyes darting from Charlie to Hermione and back again.

"Well, I suppose I could take you up on your offer," Hermione said.

"Take me up on my offer? You're already here!" Hermione shook her head as Charlie stared at her as if she had gone mad.

Suddenly, three house-elves were knocked forward onto their faces as Master Fidus pushed them roughly away and sang out, "Master Fidus has master and missus hot cocoas!" The house-elf set down a round tray in front of Charlie and Hermione as the three house-elves pushed themselves back on their feet, glaring at the unaware Fidus.

"Thank you, Fidus," Hermione said as Charlie nodded his head at the elf in thanks. He departed, swinging the round tray wildly about, departing away from the two.

"Hermione, remember how last year we had discussions with Professor McGonagall about our career proposals?" Hermione looked over at Charlie while taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

"Yeah, I do. But what about it," Hermione asked.

"I don't know. It's just that, whenever I see Paul, I think of Ailsa and the dragon reserve."

"You really would like to work there?"

"Again, I don't know. I've never actually been to one before."

"Well, how about you make that a summer trip?"

"What are you on about," Charlie asked.

"Well, I mean, ask your mum and dad if they could take you to one. Professor McGonagall said there's a small reserve in Wales. How about you go there and see what working on a dragon reserve is really like? After all, next year, we're going to be seventh years and we have to start thinking about our lives after Hogwarts."

"It's hard to think about life without Hogwarts. We've been here for the past six, seven years, and at the end of the next year, we'll have to do without it."

"Yeah, it'll be weird to know that we'll never board the Hogwarts Express again, excited for a new term," Hermione said, a far-away gaze in her eyes.

Charlie sipped his hot cocoa, the feeling of extreme heat seeping down his throat, as he thought about what it would be like to ask his parents to visit the Dragon Reserve of Wales over the summer holiday.

"Charlie, I would never admit this to anyone else, but I'm scared of the future," Hermione said quietly.

"What do you mean," Charlie asked, pulling his eyebrows together

"You know, I'm just scared of living life if that makes any sense. What life will be like out in the real world? Soon, we won't be under the protection of our professors; we'll be out working for things that actually could make a difference in our world. We could change it but that change is something that haunts me."

"Well, when you think about it, not many people are open to the idea of change. Especially when people have a set way of life about them: they have their daily routines and their daily conversations they have with neighbors or friends. And then they have their family that gathers in the home every day and night. When that type of order is disrupted, people don't like the notion of having to adjust to a new environment.

"But Hermione, change is something that cannot be stopped. We've been going through our daily routine of coming to Hogwarts for years. At the end of next year, time will keep going and change will be upon us whether we are ready or not."

"I know, and that's what scares me. What if we're not ready for this change? What if we are unable to adapt? People change, Charlie. Friendships come and friendships go. People that we are so used to seeing will depart and we may never see them or hear from them again," Hermione responded.

Charlie reached over and grabbed both of her hands in his. "I'll be with you, Hermione. I know you've lost a lot in life at an age in which most people can't comprehend the meaning of losing family. Life isn't fair but we'll be together. I see a future with you, Hermione. It's something that won't leave my head."

Hermione smiled warmly over at Charlie. His heart constricted at the mere thought of having to leave Hermione behind. After all, the words of Professor McGonagall had haunted Charlie ever since she uttered them: the main dragon reserve in Europe was stationed in Romania.

Charlie understood the times are swiftly changing but thinking about leaving Hermione behind to take on a career over in Romania…he didn't know if he could do it. Being in a relationship with Hermione had changed Charlie in words and feelings he couldn't quite describe.

But something had changed within Charlie no doubt; however, this was change Charlie had liked.

Charlie stood up from his stool and walked over to Hermione. He set down the cocoa mug that was resting in between her hands. He took out his wand and dimmed the lights. Charlie then shot a jet of fire in the kitchen grate.

He pocketed his wand as he took Hermione's hands and helped her to her feet. "Mr. Weasley, I think you forgot a bit of music," Hermione said.

"Music? Who said anything about dancing?"

Hermione's cheeks flared instantly at her mistake. "I'm only joking, Hermione," Charlie laughed, unable to see her in an embarrassed state any longer. He took out his wand but then realized he didn't know a spell to create music.

"Allow me, will you," Hermione asked, taking out her own wand. Charlie nodded solemnly. Hermione twirled her wand in the air and a soft, wordless ballad sprung up, bouncing softly off the kitchen walls.

Both of their smiles that had shown on their faces moments before had been washed away. The now intimate setting had made Charlie think of nothing at the present moment except him and Hermione.

Charlie placed his hands on Hermione's waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "May I ask where you learned a spell to produce music, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, well, as you know, as times change, so do spells," she replied.

"How intuitive."

"Oh, you flatter me so, Mr. Weasley," Hermione admonished. The pair laughed quietly together as Charlie looked down into Hermione's eyes.

"I must confess, Hermione, I have a major problem."

"And what would that be?"

"I could stare into your eyes all night long." Charlie felt as if he was in a dreamland; dancing with Hermione in the soft darkness of the Hogwarts kitchen.

In the calm of a wind that did not exist, Charlie and Hermione were young lovers, dancing in a brief moment of peace, all else forgotten, both of their hearts yearning to stay young forever and a day.

Well, the bell tolls as Chapter 17 is now complete. And that means, one more chapter is left for "And Gryffindor Rebels!" I hoped you enjoyed this action-less chapter. Let me know what you thought about it in a short review! Chapter 18 will be posted THURSDAY NIGHT! Look forward to the story's finale!


	18. Chapter 18: A World Built for Two

And Gryffindor Rebels

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone that read my second story, "And Gryffindor Rebels!" It is so fun to play around in the world of Harry Potter, especially with a character that is not well known (Charlie Weasely). I have read all of the other FanFiction stories there are about Charlie and Hermione and it inspired me to write my own.  
This is the final chapter to "And Gryffindor Rebels" and I sincerely hope you all enjoy it. I also want to thank those who left a review for me to read…it definitely helps me to see what flaws I have as a writer. And I also would like to thank author J.K. Rowling, the creator of the _Harry Potter_ series for providing the richest and most in-depth fantastical coming-of-age story of a cohort. So, without further ado, here is the final chapter to "And Gryffindor Rebels!"

"Startled minds and flailing hearts: the movement of a generation"  
\- Unknown

Chapter 18: A World Built for Two

Walking hand-in-hand, Charlie and Hermione exited the Hogwarts kitchen as the house-elves nearly had a stampede to see them out. Smiling behind his shoulder, Charlie bowed his head at the house-elf scuffle behind him as the portrait swung upon.

Walking along the corridors of the castle in the quietness of the night, the couple heard the bell tower toll softly, as if to not wake the sleeping students of Hogwarts.

"Charlie, we are still prefects and we could get into so much trouble being caught out of bed this late at night," Hermione said.

"I think you mean this late in the morning; Hermione, it's past midnight!" Hermione looked over and saw Charlie craning his neck to see the bell tower. Sure enough, in the dim light and mist that hovered over the grounds of Hogwarts, Hermione saw that the time was two o'clock in the morning.

She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. She heard Charlie chuckle and when she peeked over at him, he stuffed two knuckles in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Hermione raised an eyebrow up at him but Charlie did not make eye contact with Hermione for the fear of not being able to control his hysterics; instead, Charlie kept his gaze straight ahead.

The pair walked on until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, guarding the entrance into Gryffindor Tower. To Charlie and Hermione's surprise, the Fat Lady was fast sleep, her soft snores emitting lowly around the empty halls.

"Should we try and wake her up," Charlie whispered, the lines becoming more increased in his forehead as he tried to figure out the best course of action to take.

"And what, sleep out here for the rest of the morning? Of course we should wake her up," Hermione explained.

"Do we just poke her or just call out," Charlie asked back, looking down at Hermione who was staring up at the portrait.

"Well, we could try to prod her awake," she suggested, taking a cautious step forward. Hermione reached out a finger when the Fat Lady gave a loud grunt. Instinctively, Hermione retracted her hand and into her chest.

Charlie laughed quietly and said, "Well done, Hermione! But stand back and let me show you what to do." Charlie stepped forward and he put out a finger.

He stretched, reaching closer and closer until a voice suddenly said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Charlie, caught unawares, retracted his hand so fast he tripped over his own feet and fell down onto the stone floor.

He looked up and saw Hermione doubled down, her hand covering her mouth trying to stifle the gale of laughter that was consuming her. She looked over at Charlie, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, and said, "So that's how it's done, is it, Charlie?"

Red in the face, Charlie hastily stood up, brushed himself off, and looked around for the source of the noise. To the left of the Fat Lady's portrait, Charlie and Hermione spotted a painting they had never seen before.

The painting was of a young man, who was positioned against an open window that overlooked a vast countryside; off in the distance, one could see a handsome manor set against the vivid stars of the night sky.

"I've never seen you before," Charlie reasoned, looking at the painting. He looked over at Hermione and saw her eyes of confusion.

"And I have neither seen the two of you either, so I guess we are on equal terms in that respect," replied the young man. The man of the portrait had fair skin, with his short, styled hair a dark brown. His dark green eyes drifted from the couple back out the open window.

"Shadows of light play me not, I must see my fair lady beyond a fortnight," the painting murmured.

"Um, anyway," Charlie started, having no idea what the painting was talking about, "Do you know how to get into the tower?"

"What on earth do you mean," the young man asked, looking directly at Charlie.

"Well, I was about to wake up the Fat Lady but you said you wouldn't that if you were me," Charlie explained, wondering if the painting was of a madman.

"Well, if you wake her up, she would cause such a ruckus. I remember one young couple came back after hours, like yourselves, and the Fat Lady gave them a solid piece of her mentality. Mind you, the last couple that came back this late after hours was decades ago. In fact," the young man started, his eyes traveling up to Charlie's hair, "They had the same shade of hair you do, young fellow."

Charlie's eyebrows shot up at this news, wondering if the painting was talking about some distant relatives he had at Hogwarts long ago.

"Well, could you please tell us how to get past the painting? We really need to get our sleep," Hermione asked.

The young man now turned his gaze onto Hermione who was unable to hold it. She squirmed in place, her eyes darting anywhere but at the young man.

"Do I intimidate you?"

"What? Oh no, I just, well, I…" Hermione stuttered.

"Point taken," the painting replied, smirking.

"Look, can you just tell us how to get into Gryffindor Tower," Charlie asked, his annoyance growing as he felt his eyelids grow heavy.

"I will tell you when I am ready," he replied.

"And when will you be ready," Charlie asked.

"When I see my fair lady pass me by. She comes by with the breeze of the wind every night around this time," the man explained, his expression turning to longing as he gazed out into the dark night.

"And you telling us would take five seconds, tops," Charlie replied, agitated at the painting's unhelpfulness.

"If I tell you, then I would miss my love," the painting responded simply. "And if you had any sense of decency, you would quiet yourself and let me enjoy my humble moment of peace."

Charlie's face grew red in anger as his impatience soared. Hermione grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He looked down at her soft features, his face soon mirroring hers.

As the pair looked into each other's eyes, they both heard the most beautiful voice drift into their ears. They turned in unison to look at the painting and Hermione gasped aloud.

The painting transformed: the setting of the quiet countryside now showed a small church steeple under a bright blue sky. White streamers were wound and tied into green bushes that lined the pathway in which a young man and his bride were coming along, huge smiles plastered on their faces.

The painting changed again but this time, the wedding couple sat on the sands of a long seashore. The sound of waves crashing onto the beach was heard softly as the wife leaned her head against the man's shoulders, taking in a view beyond beauty.

The painting then turned back into the original, dark quiet countryside with the young man looking out of its window. Charlie noticed he was now smiling.

"What was that," Hermione asked the painting, staring wide-eyed at the unseeingly stunning transformation that had taken place mere seconds ago. "I've never seen any painting do such a thing!"

"You saw my memories, young ones. Memories of a past I long to go back to. You see, I had married young to the most beautiful woman a man could ever ask for. We lived happily for two years until death had other plans. She was ripped from the mortal world, taking my heart with her. But she comes back, every night in fact. Her memories flow into my head and I am brought back to a time where happiness was endless.

"Every night, I get drunk on her and her thoughts. Even though I enter the same thoughts every early morning, they give me a power no wand could ever bestow upon me. An inner power that runs so deep the lowest gorges of earth could not withstand."

Charlie felt bad for the young man in the painting; he had loved yet his lover had died. He looked down at Hermione who had tears in her eyes that were on the verge of falling.

"I'm very sorry," Hermione said, her voice cracking with sadness.

"Do not take pity on me. The legend of my love will never die; it is a love that will never grow old. Take pity on those who do not love for they are not living, they are merely existing."

Charlie nestled in between his bed sheets not five minutes later, his eyes heavy. As he laid his head on his pillow, he could not help think of the painting of the young man. After all, in six years of coming to Hogwarts and the countless times he had entered and exited Gryffindor Tower, he had never seen that painting.

Charlie closed his eyes. A soft rain started to pound the window panes of his dormitory, light snores coming from Adam's bed across the room. Dreams invaded Charlie's sleep, dreams of vivid color and brightness, yet when Charlie awoke the following morning, he did not remember any of it.

As Charlie got dressed, he heard Adam and Josh mumble awake. He left the dormitory and found Hermione already waiting for him in the common room. The couple smiled at each other as they exited the portrait hole.

Together, they turned to look at the painting and saw the young man gazing out of the open window; however, he took no notice of them. Charlie gave a small smile then departed with Hermione down to the Great Hall.

Once Adam and Josh had joined them for breakfast, Adam asked, "So who do you think our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be?"

Charlie and Hermione looked up at the staff table and realized Professor Blackwell was not there.

"So I assume he hasn't been released yet," Charlie said.

"Of course he hasn't! Didn't you notice that when you walked into the Great Hall this morning," Adam asked. "I mean, I can't stop thinking about him!"

"Well, we had other things on our mind," Charlie said, thinking of his late night escapade with Hermione down into the kitchen and their conversation with the painting.

"Anyway, if you're done being loves-struck, we should get going," Josh said, grabbing his bag and rolling his eyes. Charlie shook his head playfully at him and he burst out laughing.

Charlie and Hermione followed Adam and Josh out of the Great Hall when Charlie was shoved roughly out of the way. He looked up and saw Tonks grab Adam's arm, smiling up at him.

Taking one look at Adam's face, Josh turned to walk with Charlie. However, noticing Charlie and Hermione's entwined hands, he sped up and walked on alone. Charlie started shaking with laughter at Josh's behavior as Hermione looked over quizzically at him.

As Charlie and Hermione filed into their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, they instantly looked up at the head of the room to see who would be teaching them. They both gasped aloud: Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the classroom, beaming down at the students who looked up at him in awe and wonder.

"Welcome, welcome, and a good morning to you all," said Professor Dumbledore loudly and at once, the whispered conversations ceased. "I gather that you question where Professor Blackwell is and why he is not here and I am? At the present time, Professor Blackwell finds himself incapable of teaching due to personal issues. Since it is so late in the term, I thought that I could teach you all to defend yourselves against the dark arts, though I am sure some of you have quite mastered the subject," he said, his eyes twinkling over at Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh. "Now, let's begin."

To say their Defense Against the Dark Arts class was incredible would be an understatement: Professor Dumbledore taught them spells Charlie had no idea existed. Professor Dumbledore performed a powerful spell-blocking curse of which the magic of the spell could be felt vibrating the walls of their classroom.

Many of the students, by the looks on their faces, were sad to see their lesson end, Charlie included.

"Well look on the bright side," Hermione said, noting the forlorn look on Charlie's face, "Professor Dumbledore will be teaching us for the rest of the term!" Charlie laughed at Hermione doing her best to cheer him up because it worked.

During the week, however, Charlie was amazed at how fast time seemed to be going. It was as if time had been sped up and refused to slow down.

The students of the castle were completely enchanted by Professor Dumbledore's magic when he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts; the fifth-years and seventh-years were studying like wild owls, as their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were quickly approaching; Charlie, Hermione, Josh, Adam, and now Tonks had their own studying to do as their end-of-the-year exams were upon them as well.

Soon, too soon in Charlie's mind, everyone was enjoying the end of the year feast. Charlie looked around at the hundreds of conversations taking place all around him and smiled. He felt truly at ease. Earlier that morning, Charlie, Hermione, Adam, and Josh were informed by Professor Dumbledore that Professor Blackwell had been released from Azkaban.

He, however, refused to return and instead preferred to take time off to heal; after all, his family was ripped apart by the bombshell news that Alex was not his real brother. Professor Dumbledore also informed them that Alex, Paul, and four other Death Eaters were given a life sentence to Azkaban after Dumbledore had captured them in Godric's Hollow.

As the feast wound down to a close and Charlie heard the benches scrape against the stone floor of the Great Hall, he suddenly felt depressed. Of course he was happy he would be going home to his family but there was something mystifying about being inside the walls of Hogwarts castle that called out to him in silence.

As he and Hermione walked hand-in-hand towards Gryffindor Tower, Hermione suddenly gasped aloud. Charlie's eyes darted down to Hermione to see if she was alright.

"Hermione? What is it," Charlie asked worriedly.

"Charlie, look." Charlie's gaze followed Hermione's finger to the walls where he saw a picture of a beautiful young lady. She was sitting alone on a vast seashore, the waves of the beach crashing against the shoreline. It seemed as if she was waiting for something. Charlie smiled at the picture and then looked down at Hermione who was gazing up at the picture in wonder.

Together, they departed the corridor and moments later, stood in front of the Fat Lady. They looked over at the picture of the young man who again took no notice of them.

"I wouldn't pay him any attention, my dears," the Fat Lady said suddenly, aware of their gazes. "The poor young man is quite in over his head, if you ask me. Always gazing out of his window as if he expects something to happen; I wonder if he's mad?"

"Oh he's mad alright," Charlie started. "He's mad in love." Laughing at the shocked face of the Fat Lady, Hermione gave the password and the couple entered Gryffindor Tower.

The following day, as the Hogwarts Express was thundering down its train tracks, curving around a vast lake, Hermione had her head in the crook of Charlie's neck.

"Charlie, can you promise me something," Hermione asked.

"Hermione, I promise you the world, if it was in my power," he replied, noting the puzzled look she gave him.

"Promise me you'll always remember me."

Confused, Charlie looked down at her and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Who knows what will happen to us after we graduate. You're thinking about dragons and the main reserve is across the continent and I'm still deciding my career. I don't know where we are going to end up."

"Then don't think of it as an end; think of it as the beginning of a new chapter," Charlie replied, caressing Hermione's cheek as sunlight poured into their carriage. "We will grow old but our love for each other never will. I know the future's uncertain but we need to be brave and face what lies before us."

Charlie leaned his head down and he and Hermione shared a soft kiss. Charlie's stomach seemed as if it could take flight all one its own, as he felt a weightless in his tummy. As they slowly pulled apart, Hermione giggled and leaned her head in Charlie's chest.

As the train pulled to a slow stop at King's Cross Station, Charlie and Hermione grabbed their things and followed a long line of students into the corridor of the train. Together, they stepped onto platform 9 ¾ and Charlie spotted his family beaming over at him.

Charlie grabbed Hermione's hand; the couple looked at one another and smiled. Together they would face the unknown; they would face tomorrow; they would face the future.


End file.
